Cornell University Library
QL 676.N3
Common birds of town and countr
3 1924 022 518 595
Cornell
Lab of Ornithology
Library
at Sapsucker Woods
istration of Bank Swallow by Louis Agassiz Fueirc
LABORATORY OF ORNITHOLOGY
CORNELL UNIVERSITY
ITHACA, NEI YORK
!K2
Cornell University
Library
The original of this book is in
the Cornell University Library.
There are no known copyright restrictions in
the United States on the use of the text.
http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924022518595
COMMON BIRDS
OF TOWN AND COUNTRY
HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIM Ill Illllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
With 114 Illustrations in Color and
52 in Black and White
lllllllllllllllllll Illlillll Illlllllllllllllllllll
This book contains the following reprints from the National
Geographic Magazine:
"Birds of Town and Country," by Henry W. Henshaw, with
drawings by Louis Agassiz Fuertes, May, 1914
"Fifty Common Birds of Farm and Orchard," by Henry W.
Henshaw, with drawings by Louis Agassiz Fuertes, June,
1913
"Encouraging Birds Around the Home," by Frederic H.
Kennard, March, 1914
' ' Our Greatest Travelers : Birds that Fly from Pole to Pole ;
Birds that Make 2,500 Miles in a Single Flight," by
Wells W. Cooke, April, 1911
National Geographic Society
Washington, D. C , U. S. A.
Copyright, 1911 and 1914
BY
National Geographic Society
(\ ru '' K
QL
BIRDS OF TOWN AND COUNTRY
By Henry W. Henshaw
Chief of the Biological Survey
The 64 colored pictures of common birds of the United States, which illustrate
the following article by Dr. Henshaw, were prepared especially for the National
Geographic Magazine by the artist-naturalist, Louis Agassis Fuertes, and repre-
sent many months of work by him and by the engraver and printer. As in the
June, 1913, number, the Geographic printed d collection of 50 birds in colors,
also by Louis Agassis Fuertes, with text by Dr. Henshaw, it has now given its
readers, at the cost of many thousands of dollars, a complete pictorial description
of the 114 more common birds of our country.
The Magazine has received so many requests for separate copies of the article
printed last year that arrangements have been made for binding substantially in
one volume both of the above articles; also the article by Frederic H. Kennard,
"Encouraging Birds Around the Home," with 36 illustrations, which was printed
in our March, 1914, number, and the original contribution, "Our Greatest Travel-
ers: Birds that Fly from Pole to Pole; Birds that Make 2,500 Miles in a Single
Flight," by Wells IV. Cooke, in our April, ipil, issue. A limited number of copies
of this valuable collection, substantially bound in cloth, may be obtained at the
office of the National Geographic Society at $1.00 each (bound in leather, $2.00).
FROM very ancient times birds have
appealed to the interest and imagi-
nation of mankind. They have
furnished themes for innumerable poets,
have appeared in many guises in primi-
tive religions, and by their flight inspired
the predictions of the soothsayers of old.
In these modern and prosaic times birds
still continue to interest mankind, and
the last decade has witnessed a marked
strengthening of the sentiment toward
them.
The present interest is direct and per-
sonal, and today hundreds of thousands
of men and women in various parts of
the country, old as well as young, are
employing much of their leisure in famil-
iarizing themselves with the birds of
their respective localities. In following
birds afield, in studying their habits, and
listening to their songs, they bring them-
selves into close touch and sympathy
with nature and add new zest to life — a
zest, be it noted, which enriches without
harm to any creature.
Would that the same could be said of
the sportsman who almost invariably is
at heart a nature lover, though the primi-
tive instinct to kill is uppermost. Many
sportsmen, however, who formerly fol-
lowed wild creatures only to kill, have
abandoned the use of rifle and shotgun,
and today are finding greater pleasure in
studying and photographing their former
quarry than they did in pursuing it with
murderous intent. A real interest in liv-
ing outdoor wild life leads naturally to a
love of nature in all her varied mani-
festations, and this, in all lands and
under -all circumstances, remains a source
of lasting pleasure.
A love of birds from the esthetic side,
however, is of comparatively recent de-
velopment and had little place among
primitive peoples, who utilized birds
chiefly" in two ways — for food and for
ornament. Feathers, especially, appealed
to them for purposes of adornment, and
this barbaric taste has not only survived
among civilized races, but in recent years
has developed to an extent which threat-
ens tfre very existence of many of the
most beautiful and notable species of
birds in various parts of the world. No
region is too remote, no forests too deep),
no mountains too high to stay the plume-
hunter, stimulated by the golden bribe
offered by the tyrant Fashion.
Happily, America has taken the lead
in an attempt to restrict this craze for
feather adornment, which means nothing
less than the death of millions of beauti-
ful and useful creatures. Nor are evi-
dences wanting that other countries as
well have recognized the gravity of the
situation and are preparing to pass pro-
494
THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE
tective laws similar to those recently
enacted in this country.
BIRDS ARE THE FARMERS' MOST EFFICIENT
AELiES
While birds appeal to the regard and
interest of man from the esthetic side as
no other creatures do, there is another
and even more important point of view,
and it is no doubt true that of late years
interest in birds has been greatly stimu-
lated by the discovery that they possess
an economic value. Indeed, so great is
their value from a practical standpoint
as to lead to the belief that were it not
for birds successful agriculture would be
impossible.
The study of the economic, side of
bird life and of the relations of birds to
the farmer and horticulturist have been
greatly stimulated in the United States
by Federal aid and supervision, and in no
other country in the world have the ac-
tivities of birds been so carefully investi-
gated with reference to their practical
bearing. Under the Biological Survey
of the Department of Agriculture, for
instance, is a corps of trained men, who
study the food of birds by careful ex-
amination of the stomachs of specimens
killed for scientific purposes. The infor-
mation thus gained is supplemented by
observations in the field, and the result
is a large amount of invaluable data illus-
trative of the economic relations of many
kinds of birds. This storehouse of in-
formation has been largely drawn upon
in the following pages.
OUR COUNTRY IS PARTICULARLY FORTU-
NATE IN THE NUMBER AND
VARIETY OF ITS BIRDS
It would be strange indeed if our land,
with its vast extent of territory, its diver-
sified landscape, its extensive forests, its
numerous lakes and streams, with its
mountains, prairies, and plains, had not
been provided by Nature with an abun-
dant and diversified bird life. As a mat-
ter of fact, America has been favored
with a great variety of birds famed both
for beauty and for song. America also
possesses certain families, as the hum-
ming-birds and wood-warblers, the like
of which exist nowhere else in the world.
In considering the many kinds of
birds in the United States from the prac-
tical side, they may not inaptly be com-
pared to a police force, the chief duty of
which is to restrain within bounds the
hordes of insects that if unchecked would
devour every green thing. To accom-
plish this ".task successfully, the members
of the force must be variously equipped,
as we find they are. Indeed, while the
1,200 kinds of birds that inhabit the
United States can be grouped in families
which resemble each other in a general
way, yet among the members of the sev-
eral families are marked variations of
form and plumage and still greater vari-
ation of habits, which fit them for their
diversified duties.
As the hulk of insects spend more or
less time On the ground, so we find that
more birds are fitted for terrestrial serv-
ice than for any other. Our largest bird
family, the sparrows, is chiefly terres-
trial, and although its members depend
much upon seeds for subsistence they
spend no little share of their time search-
ing for insects. They are ablv aided in
the good work by the thrushes, wrens,
certain of the warblers, and many other
birds.
Another group is of arboreal habits,
and plays an important part in the con-
servation of our forests, the true value
of which we have only recently learned
to appreciate. So many insects burrow
into trees that a highly specialized class
of birds — the woodpeckers — has been
developed to dig them out. The bills,
tongues, feet, and even the tails of these
birds have been cunningly adapted to this
one end, and the manner in which this
has been done shows how fertile Nature
is in equipping her servants to do her
bidding.
The bark of trees also forms a favorite
shelter for numerous insects, and behold
the wrens, nuthatches, warblers, and
creepers, with sharpest of eyes and slen-
derest of bills, to detect our foes and to
dislodge them from crack and cranny.
The air is full of flying insects, and to
take care of these there are the swallows,
swifts, and night-hawks, whose wings
and bodies are so shaped as to endow
them with the speed and agility neces-
sary to follow all the turns and windings
of their nimble insect prey.
BIRDS OF TOWN AND COUNTRY
49E
The whippoorwills, swift of wing and
with capacious mouths beset with bris-
tles, attend to the night-flying insects
when most birds are asleep, while the
hawks by day and the owls by night sup-
plement the work of other birds and have
a special function of their own, the de-
struction of noxious rodents.
Thus every family of birds plays its
own part in the warfare against insects
and other foes to man's industry, and
contributes its share to man's welfare.
Birds would fall far short of what they
accomplish for man were they not the
most active of living things. It is curious
that the group of vertebrates which live
the fastest — that is, have a higher tem-
perature and a more rapid circulation
than any other — should be related by de-
scent to a family of such cold-blooded
creatures as the reptiles and lizards,
which often go without food and hiber-
nate for considerable periods. Very dif-
ferent is it with birds. Few realize the
enormous quantity of food required to
sustain the energy of these creatures,
most of whose waking hours are spent
in a never-ending search for food.
In satisfying their own hunger birds
perform an important service to man, for
notwithstanding the fact that the acreage
under cultivation in the United States is
larger than ever before, and that the
crops are greater, the cost of foodstuffs
continually mounts upward. Meanwhile
the destruction of farm and orchard
crops by insects and by rodents amounts
to many millions each year, and if any
part of this loss can be prevented it will
be so much clear gain.
The protection of insectivorous and
rodent-destroying birds is one of the
most effective means of preventing much
of this unnecessary loss, and the public
is rapidly awakening to the importance
of this form of conservation. From the
farmers' standpoint, such birds as the
bobwhite, prairie-chicken, the upland
plover, and the other shore birds are
worth very much more as insect eaters
than as food or as objects of pursuit by
the sportsman. This statement applies
with especial force to such species as the
prairie-chicken, which everywhere in its
old haunts is threatened with extinction.
BIRDS CHECK RAVAGES OF DISEASE-
CARRYING INSECTS
The value of birds to the farmer is
plain enough, but we do not usually think
of birds as having any direct relation to
the public health. To prove that they do,
however, it is only necessary to state that
500 mosquitoes have been found in the
stomach of a single night-hawk ; that in
a killdeer's stomach hundreds of the
larvae of the salt-marsh mosquito have
been f 0111 id, and that many shore birds
greedily devour mosquito larva;. As
mosquitoes are known to carry the germs
of such serious diseases as dengue fever
and malaria, it is evident that by destroy-
ing them birds are conferring an impor-
tant benefit on man. It may lie added
that not infrequently ticks are eaten by
birds, and that the tick responsible for
the spread of Texas fever among cattle
has been found 111 the stomach of the
bobwhite.
Since birds perform such invaluable
service, every effort should be made to
protect the birds we now have and to in-
crease their numbers. This can be done
in several ways: (a) bv furnishing nest-
ing boxes for certain species to nest in,
as swallows, martins, wrens, woodpeck-
ers, great-crested flycatchers, and others;
( b) by planting berry-bearing shrubs
about the farm or orchard as food for
the birds in winter; (c) by the establish-
ment of bird santuaries, where birds may
be reasonably safe from their natural
enemies and be permitted to live and
breed in absolute security as far as man
is concerned.
Here, again, the National Government,
taking the lead, has set apart no less than
64 bird refuges in various parts of the
United States. These for the most part
are rocky, barren islands of littl. or no
agricultural value, but of very great use-
fulness m the cause of bird protection.
The example thus set is now being fol-
lowed hy certain States, as Oregon and
Wisconsin. Several private citizens also
have acquired islands for the purpose of
making bird preserves of them ; others
not only prevent the destruction of wild
life on their forested estates, but go much
farther, and endeavor in various ways to
increase the number of their bird tenants.
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514
515
Vakied Thkush
Veeht
Wood Thrush
Bush -tit
51G
VARIED THRUSH (Ixoreus neevius).
Length, about 10 inches. Its large size and dark
slate-colored upper parts, black breast collar, orange
brown stripe over eye and orange brown under parts
mark this thrush apart from all others.
Range: Breeds on the Pacific coast from Yakutat
Bay, Alaska, south to Humboldt County, California;
winters from southern Alaska to northern Cali-
fornia.
This, one of our largest and finest thrushes, is
limited to the west coast, where it finds a con-
genial summer home in the depths of the coniferous
forests, the mystery and loneliness of which seem
reflected in its nature. Although the varied thrush
somewhat suggests our robin, it is much shyer,
audits habits and notes are very different, makingit
more nearly akin to the small olive thrushes. It
nesta in the conifers, and its eggs, unlike those of
the robin, are heavily blotched with brown. Its
song, a single long-drawn note, has been greatly
praised, and seems entirely in harmony with the
bird's surroundings, being weird and inspiring. In
winter the varied thrush abandons the forest and
with it many of the habits of the recluse, a:id visits
more open districts, including ravines and even
gardens, where it becomes quite familiar.
This thrush, likeits smaller brethren, feeds chiefly
on the ground, and its food is largely of vegetable
nature, but includes a fair proportion of insects,
with millepeds and snails. Unless its habits are
greatly modified by the encroachment of civiliza-
tion on its domain it is not likely to be much of a
factor in agricultural affairs, lint it will continue
to make itself useful by destroying the insect enemies
of forest trees.
VEERY (Hylocichla fuscescens fuscescens).
Length, about 7i inches. To be known from the
other small thrushes by its uniform cinnamon brown
upper parts and its faint brown breast markings.
Range: Breeds from northern Michigan, central
Ontario and Newfoundland south to northern
Illinois, northern Indiana, northern Ohio and New
Jersey; and in the Alleghcniea south to North
Carolina and northern Georgia; winters in South
America.
Far more retiring than either the wood thrush or
the hermit, the veery must be sought in the seclusion
of the swamp or swampy woodland, far from the
recesses of which he rarely ventures. Much of his
time he spends on the ground, for on or near it he
finds his chosen fare. Though trim in form and clad
in a garb of modest color as befits his nature, the
veery appeals less to the bird lover's eye than to his
ear. Though some of his relatives are classed among
the most famous of American songsters, the veery
may fairly claim place in the front rank, and his
wild, mysterious and all-pervading notes touch
certain chords in the human breast which respond
to the song of no other of our birds.
The food of the veery does not differ essentially
from that of the other small thrushes and includes a
great variety of small wild fruits and insects. As it
rarely visits the orchard or farm its insect-eating
habits have little direct bearing on the farmer's
interest, although indirectly the bird contributes
its share to the beneficial work of staying the super-
abundant tide of insect life. It does, however, eat
many weevils, and among them the notorious plum
eurculio.
WOOD THRUSH (Hylocichla mustelina).
Length-, about 8| inches. To be distinguished
among its fellows by its more bulky form, by the
golden brown head, bright cinnamon upper parts,
and the large round black spots beneath, sharply
contrasting with the pure white.
Range: Breeds from southern South Dakota,
central Minnesota, central Wisconsin, southern
Ontario and southern New Hampshire south to east-
ern Texa's, Louisiana and northern Florida; winters
from southern Mexico to Centra! America.
The wood thrush finds its way to our hearts and
sympathies more through its voice than its presence,
and whoever has failed to hear its clear flute-like
tones rising from the woodland depths as the mists
of evening gather has missed a rich treat. It is no
doubt true that the Hermit Thrush is a more
finished performer, but that chorister reserves his
music chiefly for the northern wilds while our wood
thrush favors more southern lands. Moreover, the
hermit is a true recluse and must be sought in the
deeper forest, its chosen home, while its more south-
ern cousin lives in comparatively open woodland
and does not disdain to take up its summer residence
in parks and gardens. The music of the one is for
the favored few, while the song of the other is almost
as well known as that of the brown thrasher.
Like most of the tribe, the wood thrush obtains
its food, chiefly from the ground, where it spends
much of its time searching among the leaves. In-
sects with a small percentage of fruit, chiefly wild
varieties, compose its fare. Among the insects are
cutworms and other caterpillars, ants, grasshoppers
and beetles, including the Colorado potato beetle.
Thus the bird deserves a high place in our esteem
for both esthetic and economic reasons.
BUSH-TIT (Psaltriparus minimus
and sub-species).
Length, from 4 to 41 inches.
Range: Pacific coast from southern British
Columbia to the Cape Region of Lower California,
and eastward to the interior of Oregon and Cali-
fornia; nests generally throughout its range.
This pigmy among birds has many of the char-
acteristic-habits of the chickadee family, of which
it is the smallest member. Extremely sociable,
bush-titS move about in large flocks, occasionally in
compairy with other birds, generally without. One
moment, you are alone, the next moment the trees
and buslirs are full of these diminutive little busy-
bodies that scan you with their curious bead-like
eyes as they hurry on in quest of food, keeping up
the while a constant calling and twittering. Their
pendant nests, often attached to oak trees, suggest
the well-known structure of our hang-bird or Balti-
more oriole, and are excellent specimens of bird
architecture.
The few western states favored by the presence of
this bird are to be congratulated, as more than half
its animal food consists of insects and spiders,
nearly all of which are harmful. Among the insects
are many tree bugs, Hemiplera, which contain our
most dreaded insect pests, such as the black olive
scale and other scales equally destructive. The
bush-tit*is also a persistent foe of the codling moth
in all its stages.
(See Farmers' Bub 54, p. 44; also Bui. 30, pp.
517
House Finch
Female, upper; male, lower
ARKANSAS GOLDFINCH
Male, upper; female, lower
Purple Finch
Male, upper; female, lower
American Goldfinch
Male, upper; female, lower
US
HOUSE FINCH (Carpodacus mexicanus
frontalis).
Length, about 6 inches. Grayish brown above,
many feathers tinged with red. Below dull white,
crown, rump, and throat crimson.
Range: Resident in Oregon, Idaho and southeast-
ern Wyoming south to Lower ( laiifornia and Mexico.
The pretty little house finch of the far west is
among the most domestic of American birds, and
exhibits a predilection for the neighborhood of
houses almost as strong as that of the English spar-
row. It enrols its sprightly lay from the tops of
buildings in villages and even cities, and from the
shrubbery of lawn and park. So confiding has the
bird become that it places its nest in any crack or
cranny of house or outbuilding that is large enough
for its housekeeping operations. When such con-
venient and safe retreats are not to be had it. builds a
bulky nest in a tree or bush.
It is fond of fruit, including pears, cherries, and
small fruit, which its strong conical bill enables
it to break open with ease. Locally, therefore, it is a
good deal of a pest and does much damage to fruit
crops, especially where it is numerous. Much, how-
ever, can be said in mitigation of its offenses. The
seeds of plants, a large proportion of those of noxious
weeds, constitute seven-eighths of its food for the
year, Plant lice which arc notoriously harmful to
many trees and plants, also are a favorite diet. So
too are caterpillars and beetles; therefore, the balance
is decidedly in the bird's favor.
This attractive songster was carried to the
Hawaiian Islands years ago and now is numerous in
Honolulu and also in the forest on the island of
Hawaii where amid brighter and more tropical
neighbors it seems curiously out of place, though
it sings as often and as joyously as it ever did in its
old haunts across the Pacific.
ARKANSAS GOLDFINCH (Astragalinus
psaltria and sub-species).
Length, about. 4n inches. Upper parts olive green,
more or less mixed with black in the sub-species;
under parts yellow.
Range: Breeds from southern Oregon, Utah and
northern Colorado to southern Lower ( 'alifornia and
into Mexico.
In the far west this goldfineh takes the place of
the eastern goldfinch which in a general way it much
resembles in habits. Like that bird it is rarely seen,
save in the breeding season, except in small parties,
the members of which seem to be on terms of the
utmost familiarity and accord. The Might of this
species, as of its kindred, is exceedingly character-
istic. It disdains to cleave the air in straight lines
but progresses in a series of graceful sinuous curves,
which, however, take the little aeronaut rapidly
from point to point. This flight is a sure mark of
identification. The bird has a sweet warbling song
and even its call notes are plaintive and pleasing.
It abounds in orchards and gardens and is often to
be seen by the roadside gleaning its food from the
tall stems of thistle, sunflowers, groundsel and other
seed-bearing plants and weeds, ail of them either
useless or positively harmful. It is by no means
wholly a vegetarian, however, and eats many plant
lice, sometimes filling the stomach with these
minute creatures to the exclusion of all other food.
As a weevil eatei it is peerless, and it does no harm
to any product of husbandry. Altogether this pretty
little goldfinch deserves protection at the hands of
man.
PURPLE FINCH (Carpodacus purpureus).
Length, about li to iij inches. Unlike any other
eastern finch, the crimson head of the male sufficient-
ly distinguishes it.
Range: Breeds in southern Canada and south-
ward to North Dakota, Minnesota, Illinois, Penn-
sylvania mountains, and northern New Jersey;
winters from somewhat north of 1 he southern bound-
ary of itsjireeding range to the Oulf States.
Considering that it is common and widely distrib-
uted, the purple finch is nol so well known as it
should be. For one thing it has a marked liking
for the tops of trees, particularly elms, and when
in a tree top and more or less screened by foliage it.
requires the aid of a good glass to make its identity
sure. It d s warbling song is sweet and melodious but
is all too brief for perfect enjoyment, though in
spring the bird is prodigal enough of its carols, and
not infrequently a dozen males may be heard sing-
ing at once in the same or in contiguous trees. It
frequently nests around houses and for a site is very
partial to the Virginia Juniper.
The purple finch lives almost entirely on the seeds
of various plants, including those of false buckwheat
and ragwleed, with some wild berries. It is accused,
not without reason, of being a confirmed budder of
fruit and other trees, but the damage it inflicts on
eastern orchards appears to be very slight, if indeed
the mocfest budding it does is an injury at all.
AMERICAN GOLDFINCH fAstragalinus
tristis and sub-species,).
Length, about 5 inches. Easily distinguished by
its rich yellow plumage and black crown and tail.
Range.;,. Breeds from southern Canada south to
southern California, southern Colorado, Arkansas
and northern Georgia.
The thistle bird is one of our best known finches,
being not only common but very sociable. It usu-
ally goes in small flocks, or family parties, and some-
times tlte tall thistles on which it likes to feed bend
with the united weight ot several of the gay plumaged
little goldfinches. It is a law unto itself as regards
its nesting period, and begins to think seriously about
housekeeping wkren other birds are feeding full
grown ypjingstersv or ;tre debating the propriety of a
second brood. The goldfinch has a pretty and plain-
tive calTnote, and its full song is well worth listening
to. It is much like that of the canary, so much alike,
in fact, that the bird is often called the wild canary.
Throughout the year the goldfinch is a seed eater,
especially of weed seeds, and it eats also many
insects, 'including canker worms, plant lice, and
beetles. Our goldfinch sometimes annoys the farmer
by attacking the lettuce seeds which have been left
to mature* for next season's planting, but the damage
in this way is slight, and Prof. Leal has been told
that even on the large seed farms of California it i-
never serious enough to call for protective measures.
(See Biol Surv. Bui. 17 and Dul. 34, pp. 71-7:1.)
519
Vrspbk Sparrow
Bltje Grosbeak
Male, upper; female, lower
Cardinal
Male, upper; female, lower
California Quail
520
VESPER SPARROW (Pooecetes gramineus
and sub-species).
Length, about 6 inches. Its white tipped outer
tail feathers distinguish this individual from its
brown liveried fellows.
Range: Breeds from southern Canada south to
Oregon, Arizona, Texas, Kentucky, Virginia and
North Carolina; winters from southern California,
Texas, Missouri and North Carolina, south to the
Gulf coast and southern Mexico.
There is little about this brown streaked sparrow
to attract attention and, until it flics and displays
the white tipped tail feathers, you might mistake the
bird for any one of a half do/.en of the sparrow family.
Indeed if one catches merely a glimpse of a vesper
sparrow crouched low and running swiftly through
the grass one may be forgiven for mistaking the bird
for a. mouse. It frequents open pastures and when
singing likes to mount a rocky boulder so common
in New- England and other parts of the east. We
are perhaps justified in calling its song its most not-
able characteristic. Though not a pretentious
effort the voice of the vesper sparrow is sweet and
plaintive beyond expression, and harmonizes with
the dying day as docs the song of no other bird.
Prof. P.cal records the fact that in winter the food
of this sparrow consists wholly of vegetable mattei,
while in summer it consists of little else than insects.
The vesper sparrow cares less for grass seed than
any other of its fellows but consumes great quantities
of weed seeds. It. eats also large numbers of grass-
hoppers, caterpillars and weevils. A number of
these sparrows taken in Utah where the newly
imported alfalfa weevil is doing much damage were
found to have eaten these weevils to the average
extern of mure than half their food. Thus the value
of tliis bird to the farmer cannot be questioned.
BLUE GROSBEAK (Guiraca caerulea and sub-
species).
Length, about 7 inches. Distinguished by its
larger size from the inuigo bird which alone resem-
bles it.
Range: Breeds in the southern United States
north to northern California, Colorado, Nebraska,
southern Illinoisand Marylang andsouth tosouthern
Mexico; winters in Mexico and Central America.
One seldom sees the blue grosbeak at short range
or under circumstances which make identification
easy, as the bird is rather shy and frequents brushy
thickets and viny tangles much as docs the indigo
bird. The low warbling song of this grosbeak may
be compared with that of the purple finch but it is
neither so loud nor so well sustained. Under the
name of "blue pap" the grosbeak used to be a
favorite cage bird in Louisiana and other southern
states, and no doubt is so today, despite protective
laws. In the matter of diet it shows a marked pref-
erence for insect food over vegetable, the propor-
tion being about 07 to 33 per cent. The vegetable
matter includes many weed seeds, as foxtail and
bindweed, also corn, the taking of which makes a
black mark against its record. As, however, the
bird consumes twice as much animal matter as
vegetable, the balance is much in its favor and it
accordingly earns protection as well by its economic
service as by its beauty and song.
CARDINAL (Cardinalis cardinalis and
sub-species).
Length, about S 1 , inches, fts size, crest and bright
red color serve for instant identification.
Range: Southern United States generally, west
to Texas and southern Arizona, north to lower
Hudson, northern Ohio, northern Indiana, southern
Iowa and southeastern South Dakota; resident.
The cardinal is a notable bird and any locality
he chooses for his residence must be considered
highly favored. His bright colors, trim form and
erectile crest, his clear whistling call, and his fine
song are all to his credit. He is a resident of thickets
and tangled undergrowth with hanging vines, and,
when these an- provided and he feels safe from the
prowling cat. ami marauding hawk, he will take up
his abode in your garden or back yard as readily as
anywhere " else. Favor him further by supplying
him food and water in winter and you make him your
friend indeed. Practically he is a resident wherever
found and the sight of his flashing red suit amidst
snow covered bushes is a memorable picture. The
cardinal used to be a favorite cage bird in the South-
ern States and the business of trapping him for
market, especially about the large southern cities,
was common. The bird is now protected by law
as it should be, and the sight of a. cardinal behind
prison bars has become rare indeed. How many
thousands were sacrificed for hat gear we shall never
know but happily this practice too is fast disappear-
ing.
By preference the cardinal is a. vegetarian, and
about seven-tenths of its food consists of vegetable
matter iij the form of seeds, berries, etc. But it
also eats many insects, potato beetles, cotton worms,
brill worms, cotton-boll weevils, codling moths and
many otl)er scarcely less note worthy. Mr. McAfee
in attempting to sum up all the economic facts,
declares that the bird does at least fifteen times as
much good as harm, which is a record to be proud of.
CALIFORNIA QUAIL (Lophortyx californica
and varieties).
Length, about 9^ inches. Distinguished from
Gambels' quail by the reddish instead of black belly.
Range: Resident in the Pacific Coast region from
southwestern Oregon and western Nevada through
( 'ahforuia and Lower ( 'ahforma.
The- California quail is one of our most beautiful
game birds and the sight of a large covey running
daintily ajong, with crests nodding and fine plumage
gleaming in the sun is a sight to remember. Before
quail v^eve so much persecuted, covieswere common
in the gardens of Oakland and other California
towns, seemingly as much at home among calla
lilies and rosebushes as in the stubble field, ddie
numerous families in the fall associate in bands of
three or dour hundred, or even more. The Cali-
fornia quail has learned one lesson never acquired by
our bob-white — to roost in trees and bushes instead
of on the ground, and no doubt the safety thus ob-
tained during the hours of darkness is one reason for
its great abundance.
This quail is the greatest vegetarian of any of our
game birds, the vegetable food eaten by over GOO
individuals examined amounting to 95 percent of the
total food consumed. Unfortunately the California
quail consumes much grain when germinating and
thus damages the growing crop; it also attacks
grapes and, while it does not eat a great many, it
seriously damages bunches by puncturing a few
grapes here and there, so ruining the fruit for market.
521
•'jaii
Tree Swallow
Scarlet Tanaqer
Male, upper; female, lower
Cliff or Eaves Swallow
Western Tanagek
Male, upper; female, lower
522
TREE SWALLOW (Iridoprocne bicolor).
Length, about 6 inches. The steel blue upper
parts and pure white under parts are distinguishing
characteristics.
Range: Breeds from northwestern Alaska and
northern Canada south to southern California,
Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, and Virginia; winters
in central California, southern Texas and Gulf
States and south to Guatemala.
In its primitive state the tree swallow used to
nest in hollow trees, and in some parts of the country
it still continues to do so. Early in the settlement
of the country it saw the advantage of putting itself
under man's protection, and now no bird is quicker
to respond to an invitation to nest in a box dedicated
to its use. The bird lover within the range of the
species may secure an interesting tenant or two by
the expenditure of a little trouble and labor, since
the bird is not a bit fastidious as to its domicile,
providing it is weather tight. Tree swallows arrive
from the south early in April and soon begin to nest-
In the fall they gather in great flocks preparatory
to their departure, and may then be seen by hun-
dreds perched on telegraph wires. As is the habit
with swallows generally, tree swallows migrate by
day feeding as they go, and a flock passing swiftly
south presents to the casual observer an every day
appearance well calculated to deceive. Watch the
flock as it crosses the road and passes from field to
field and you will notice that while the line of flight
has many a twist and turn it trends steadily to the
south and that no individual takes the back track.
The tree swallow consumes vast numbers of gnats,
flying ants, beetles, mosquitoes and other flying
insects. It exhibits a rather curious departure
from the traditions of its kind in that it appears to be
very fond of the berries of the bayberry or wax
myrtle. It also often chooses these bushes for a
roosting place at night.
SCARLET TANAGER (Piranga erythromelas).
Length, about 7^ inches. The scarlet coat and
black wings and tail mark this bird out from ail
others.
Range: Breeds from southern Canada south to
southern Kansas, northern Arkansas, Tennessee,
northern Georgia and mountains of Virginia and
South Carolina; winters from Colombia, to Bolivia
and Peru.
The tanagers are strictly an American family,
and as their bright colors might seem to suggest, they
originated in the Tropics to which most of the nu-
merous species are confined. In fact the gleam of
scarlet from tin- coat of this tanager in our somber
woods always seems a little out of place as though the
bird were an alien. But it, is wholly at home with us,
and, indeed, does riot hesitate to make its summer
residence still farther north in Canada. Curiously
enough the nearest relatives of the brilliant tanagers
in the bird world are the plainly colored sparrows.
The chirp-churr of the tanager is a familiar call note
in our northern woods, while its song is one of the
sweetest; so that altogether this species is to be
classed as a notable member of our bird world.
In some localities it is accused of eating honey
bees, but to offset this local habit it devours the
potato-beetle and many other beetles and a great
variety of caterpillars. Blueberries and other small
berries also form an important part of its foud.
CLIFF SWALLOW (Petrochelidon lunifrons
and sub-species).
Length, about G inches. The rufous upper tail
coverts serve to distinguish this swallow from other
species.
Range: Breeds from central Alaska and northern
Canada south over the United States (except Flori-
da) and to* Guatemala; winters in South America.
The cliff and the barn swallow are members in
good standing of the original guild of masons, and
their eleven 1 constructive work in nest building with
mud pellets will bear the severest professional in-
spection. Through much of tin- west the cliff swal-
low still attaches its mud house to the faces of elm's
as from time immemorial, and it was not until the
farmers' house and barn offered a satisfactory sub-
stitute for granite and sandstone bluffs, that the bird
became really numerous in our eastern States. In
some localities this swallow is not a welcome guest
about the homestead as its nest is apt to contain
parasites which the good housekeeper fears. Such
parasites, however, are not to be dreaded as they
will live only on birds. The cliff swallow performs
invaluable service to man since its food consists
wholly of insects, and among them are many pestif-
erous kinds, such as leaf bugs, leaf-hoppers and the
boll weevil. Whoever then protects this and other
species of swallows and encourages their presence on
their premises does good and patriotic service and
can moreover be sure of adequate reward.
WESTERN TANAGER (Piranga ludoviciana).
Length, about 7 inches. The combination of
orange-red head, black back, and yellow under parts
are distinctive.
Range: ;Breeds from northeastern British Colum-
bia, southwestern Mackenzie and southwestern
South Dakota to the mountains of southern Cali-
fornia and New Mexico; winters from central Mexico
to Guatemala.
Discovered in Idaho by Lewis and Clarke in 1S3G,
this tanager has thus been known more than a hun-
dred yearsfinwhichtime it hasbecomeoneof the most
familiar of western birds. It is a common inhabitant
of both the western Rocky Mountains and the Sierra
Nevada, and is very much at home among the pine
woods of which it is the brightest ornament. In
general its*habits are like those of its scarlet cousin,
and it also has a sweet song very similar in general
effect. In California this tanager has acquired an
evil reputation by attacks on the cherry crop, and
there is no doubt that when it assembles in large
numbers in, the fruit districts it is the cans: 1 of heavy
loss to small fruit growers. Under ordinary cir-
cumstances, however, the greater part of its food
consists of, insects, many of them harmful, and it is
only fair to balance the good the bird does against
the harm. Two very harmful families of beetles,
whose larvce are wood borers and do much damage
to trees and other plants, are represented in the food.
The planting of berry bearing trees near the orchard
would no doubt prevent much of the loss, occasioned
by this bird, which by no means occurs every year.
For the rest the fruit grower must be allowed to
protect his fruit in the best and most effective way.
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Male, upper; female, lower
Starling
COWBIRD
Male, upper; female, lower
Chimney Swift
524
YELLOWHEAD (Xanthocephalus
xanthocephalus).
Length, about 10 inches. Our only blackbird with
a.ye!low head.
Range: Confined to western North America.
Breeds from southern British Columbia, southern
Mackenzie, southwestern Keewatin, and northern
Minnesota to southern California and Arizona, east
to southern Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana; winters
from southwestern California, .southern Arizona,
southeastern Texas, and southwestern Louisiana
south into Mexico.
Apparently Nature started out with the intention
of making an oriole but decided to make a black-
bird instead — and behold the yellowhead. He is a
sociable chap and nests in great companies in the
tule swamps of the west. The yellowhead's voice
is harsh and guttural and his vocal efforts have
been well characterized as a maximum of earnest
effort with a minimum of harmony. Late in mid-
summer when the young are on the wing, old and
young betake themselves to the uplands, grain
fields, pastures and corrals, associating as often as
not with redwings and Brewer's blackbirds. The
yellowhead feeds principally upon insects, grain and
weed seed, and does not attack fruit or garden prod-
uce; but it does much good by eating noxious insects
and troublesome weeds; where too abundant it is
likely to be injurious to grain.
(See Biol. Surv. Bui. No. 13, 1900, p. 32.)
COWBIRD (Molothrus atsrj.
Length, about S inches. Male glossy black, head,
neck and breast brown. Female brownish gray.
Range: Breeds from southern British Columbia,
southern Mackenzie and southeastern Canada south
to northern California, Nevada, northern New
Mexico, Texas, Louisiana and North Carolina;
winters from southeastern California and the Ohio
and Potomac Valleys to the Gulf and to central
Mexico.
Chapnran calls (he eowbird a villain — but is not the
villain in the piece often the most interesting char-
acter on the stage? Thus our eowbird, short as he is
of manners and morals, cannot fail to interest the
bird lover. He is full of idiosyncrasies that keep one
guessing- Why for instance his close association
with the peaceful cow? Why his ludicrous attempts
to sing, Ife who has not a thread of music in his whole
make-up? How did Madame Cowbird come to
lapse from the paths of virtue and, in place of build-
ing a nesCof her own, foist her eggs and the care of
her offspring on smaller and better principled birds
to their detriment? Leaving these conundrums for
wiser heads to solve, I must say that the cowbird
seems to^have chosen the smooth path to prosperity.
It makes an easy livelihood, having no parental
cares or worries, and is common and widely distrib-
uted. The farmer seems to have little to complain
of in respect to the bird'? food habits.
(.See Biol. Surv. Bui. 13, p. 29, 1900.)
STARLING (Sturnus vulgaris).
Length, about S? inches. General color dark
purple or green with reflections; feathers above
tipped with creamy buff. In flight and general
appearance unlike any native species.
Range : At present most numerous near New
York City. Has spread to Massachusetts, Connecti-
cut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia
and recently to the District of Columbia; resident
where found, though wandering southward in winter
in search of food.
The Old "World has sent us two bird pests, the
English sparrow and the starling. Although, up to
the present time, we cannot convict the starling of
having done any great damage he has proclivities
which make him potentially very dangerous. In-
troduced into New York in 1S90, the original sixty
have multiplied many fold and spread in all direc-
tions till now they occupy territory hundreds of miles
square, and are multiplying and spreading faster
than ever. On the north they have entered Massa-
chusetts and Connecticut, and on the south they
have reached Richmond, though only in migration.
Even as I write the calls of a flock of 200 or more can
be heard coming from a neighboring park, but as
yet the bird has not elected to summer in the Na-
tional Capital. The starling is a hardy, prolific bird
and is also aggressive. Like the English sparrow it
associates in flocks, which is a great advantage in
bird disputes. There is little doubt that the effect
of its increase and spread over our country will
prove disastrous to native species such as the blue-
birds, crested flycatchers, swallows, wrens and
flickers, all valuable economic species, which nest in
cavities as does the starling. Then too the starling
has a taste for grain and small fruits, especially
cherries, which will not commend it to our farmers
and orehardists.
CHIMNEY SWIFT (Ch^tura pelagica).
Length, rnther less than 6\ inches. Too well
known by its peculiar flight and habits to nerd
describing.
Range: Known only in eastern North America.
Breeds from southeastern Saskatchewan, Manitoba,
Quebec, and Newfoundland south to Gulf Coast;
west to Plains from eastern Montana to eastern
Texas; wjnters south of the United States.
The popular name of this bird, chimney swallow,
embodies an error since the bird not only is not a
swallow but is not even distantly related to the
swallow family. Unlike the humming birds as the
chimney -swift is in appearance and habits, it is
structurally not far removed from them. Like the
swallows it is an indefatigable skimmer of the air
and like them it earns a debt of gratitude by destroy-
ing vast numbers of our winged enemies, which its
unsurpassed powers of flight enable it to capture.
Indeed, chimney swifts eat nothing but insects, and
no insect that flies is safe from them, unless it be too
large for them to swallow. In June swifts may be
seen gathering twigs for nest material. They disdain
to pick these up from the ground but seize the coveted
twig with their strong feet and break it off from the
terminal branch when in full flight. By means of a
sticky saliva secreted for the purpose the swift
glues these twigs to the sides of the chimney in the
form of a shallow nest. Although not generally
known, swifts roost in chimneys and cling to the
walls by using the sharp pointed tail as a prop, as
do many woodpeckers in ascending trees. Any bird
lover may secure distinction by solving an ornitho-
logical riddle and telling us where our chimney
swifts spend the winter. They come in spring, they
go in fall and at present that is about all we know of
the matter, save that they do not hibernate in
hollow trees, as many have believed.
525
*-sa*
,&**■
Marsh Hawk
OSPHET
Turkey Buzzard
Bald Eagle
Male, upper; immature, lower
526
I.1ARSH HAWK (Circus hudsonius).
Length, about 19 inches. The ashy upper parts,
white rump and long tail of the adult male suffi-
ciently distinguish this hawk; while the fuseous
upper parts and buff under parts much streaked
with brown distinguish the female and young.
Range: Breeds through much of Canada, south
to the middle United States; winters in the United
States, especially in the south.
Though not exclusively a marsh frequenter, as its
name might seem to imply, this hawk prefers open
country, and its favorite hunting grounds are
meadow and marsh, in which it nests on the ground.
It flies rather low, the better to see and drop sud-
denly upon the luckless meadow mice — its favorite
food. Unfortunately small birds form part of its
fare, and there are localities, like Cape Cod and
Martha's Vineyard, in Massachusetts, where this
hawk has earned a bad reputation as a destroyer of
poultry and game. Howe -.', over much the larger
part of the vast territory it , .habits, the marsh hawk
is a rodent cater, and the debt of gratitude it lays
upon the farmer is large. This debt should be fully
discharged by preserving the bird and encouraging
its presence unless it is caught committing overt
acts. In other words, as this hawk is very bene-
ficial over most of its range, individual hawks should
be presumed to be innocent unless detected in trans-
gression.
OSPREY (Pandion halisetus carolinensis).
Length, about 23 inches. The great size, brown
upper parts and white under parts are distinguish-
ing features.
Range: Breeds from northwestern Alaska, and
central Canada south to the Gulf Coast, western
Mexico and Lower California; winters from the
southern United States, Lower California and
Mexico to Central America.
A thin, high pitched whistle, the alarm as well as
the call note of the osprey, frequently directs the
attention of the passer by to this fine hawk as he
circles high in air on the watch for fish. The bird
is common along our coast and to some extent along
our rivers, and his bulky nest of twigs, often in low
trees or sometimes on the ground, frequently attests
his former presence when he is wintering elsewhere.
When unmolested, ospreys return to their own strip
of territory year after year, and they and their de-
scendants probably rear their young in the same
nest for generations, repairing it from season to sea-
son as necessity requires. The osprey lives solely
on fish which he catches himself — he disdains carrion
— diving from mid air upon his quarry and often
burying himself in the water momentarily by the
force of his descent. He often fastens his talons in
the back of a large fish, which proves too heavy, and
he .has to abandon it; but usually he succeeds in
carrying his prey to his nest, though his slow and
labored wing-beats often prove how heavy is his
load. Notwithstanding the fact that the osprey
makes no direct return for the fish he eats, no one
can doubt that indirectly he renders a full equiva-
lent. Visitors to the seashore, and even old resi-
dents, never tire of watching his superb flight and
interesting habits, and nis plunge, after his quarry,
whether successful or unsuccessful, is a sight to be
remembered.
TURKEY BUZZARD (Cathartes aura sep-
tentrionalis).
Length, about 30 inches. The naked head and
neck and glossy black plumage are distinctive.
Range; Extends from southwestern Canada,
northern Minnesota, southern New York and south
into northern Mexico and Lower California.
This buzzard displays superb powers of flight
which even the eagle cannot surpass, and no small
part of its time is spent in the upper air, describing
great circles: on motionless wings as if for the mere
pleasure of. flight. Let another buzzard, however,
discover a carcass, and the movements of our aero-
naut as he fastens to the feast are at once noted by
his next neighbor, and his by a third, till the
carrion feeders of a wide territory are assembled.
Sight and not smell, then, is depended on by the
buzzard to .guide him to his food. Though of great
strength arfd provided with a formidable bill, the
buzzard rarely, if ever, attacks living animals, unless
they are disabled, but depends upon death to pro-
vide for his wants. No doubt his ability to fast is as
great as his capacity for gorging himself when occa-
sion offers, *and he must often go for days without
food. As ascavenger the buzzard does good service
and no sound reason exists for destroying him, not-
withstanding the fact that occasionally the bird may
be instrumental in spreading hog cholera by tra ns-
porting the germs on his feet and bill. This disease,
however, may be, and no doubt often is, transmitted
by the feet of so many other birds, especially the
English sparrow, and of so many mammals, espe-
cially rats, and even on the footwear of man himself
as to lead to the belief that if every buzzard in the
hog cholera. districts were to be sacrificed no percep-
tible diminution of the disease would follow. The
bird should continue to enjoy the protection which is
at present accorded it in nearly every state of the
Union.
BALD EAGLE (Haliaetus leucocephalus and
sub-species).
Length, about 33 inches. The white head (adult)
and naked tarsus distinguish this species from the
golden eagle;
Range: A. resident of Alaska, much of Canada,
and the whole of the United States in suitable locali-
ties, o
Though a fisherman by profession, the white head
is by no means the master of his craft that the osprey
is. In fact he never fishes for himself so long as he
can rob the more skilful and more industrious fish
hawk. When necessity compels, however, he fishes
to some purpose, and much after the manner of his
erstwhile victim, the fish hawk. He is far less fas-
tidious in his food habits than that bird, however,
and often gorges himself until he cannot fly on dead
fish gathered along shore, especially on the great
salmon rivers of the northwest. When fish are
scarce and waterfowl are plentiful, the white head
has little difficulty in living off them. Complaint
is made in Alaska, where the bald eagle is numerous,
that he sometimes interferes with blue fox fanning
by killing the animals for food. Though the blue
fox is not alarge animal he is by no means a pigmy,
and the bird who would make him his quarry must
needs possess both strength and determination. As
this eagle has been taken for our National emblem
it would seem to be the part of patriotism to condone
his faults and remember only his virtues, among
which are a magnificent presence, superb powers of
flight, and his devoted care of his family.
527
:
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Elack-i'hownkd Nicht Heron
Male, upper; young bird, lower
Herrinc Gull
Adult in winter, upper
Adult in summer, lower
Great Blue Heron
Common Tern
528
BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON
(Nycticorax naevius naevius).
Length, about 24 inches. The black crown distin-
guishes it from its relative, the yellow-crowned night
heron.
Range: Breeds from northern Oregon, southern
Wyoming, southern Manitoba, and central Quebec
south to Patagonia; winters from northern Cali-
fornia and Gulf States southward.
(liven for a roosting place a suitable stand of leafy
trees, especially evergreens, conveniently near a
stream or pond that harbors fish, frogs and tad-
pole's, and any locality may have its colony of night
herons. As its name implies, this heron is a bird of
the night, nut Leaving its roost till dusk when, with
frequent iteration of its hoarse quawk, it wings its
way in the gathering gloom straight to its feeding
place. So rarely is the bird about in daylight that a
large colony may exist for years near a town or large
■city, and not above a dozen individuals have an
inkling of its existence. True to its sociable instincts,
the night heron by preference nests in colonies, and
several pairs often place their rude nests of sticks
in the same tree; or, in the absence of trees, as in the
extensive tule swamps of the far west, where other
■conditions are ideal for herons, they nest on the
ground or on the prostrate tules, hundreds of pairs
being associated together.
This heron sometimes feeds on field mice, but it
eats too many fish to please the fisheulturist, and
after it lias once learned the way to a hatchery strong
measures are needed to discourage its activities.
HERRING GULL (Larus argentatus).
Length, about 24 inches. Deep pearl gray above;
much of rest of plumage white. Not readily distin-
guished in life from its allies.
Range: Breeds in Alaska and in Arctic regions
south to southern British Columbia, southern
Alberta, northern North Dakota, central Wisconsin
southern Ontario, northern New York, and Maine;
winters from southern British Columbia to Lower
California and western Mexico, and from Gulf of
St. Lawrence and Great Lakes south to Bahamas,
Yucatan, and coast of Texas.
All things considered, the herring gull is probably
the best known of the family by reason of its
abundance and wide distribution. Moreover, this
is the gull most frequently noticed by passengers as
it follows in the wake of our ocean and trans-Atlantic
steamers. It breeds no farther south than the coast
of Maine, but in winter it is very numerous along the
Atlantic coast and in many of our inland ponds. It
does excellent service as a scavenger in our harbors,
venturing fearlessly among the shipping to secure
anything edible that may find its way overboard.
The services of this and other gulls in such a capacity
are so valuable that their destruction under any
pretense is to be deprecated. When the craze for
feathered hat gear was at its height thousands of
gulls, without regard to species, were killed for
millinery purposes, but it is to be hoped that, now
the sale of their feathers is illegal practically every-
where in the United States, the gulls will rapidly
increase.
(See Biol. Surv. Bui. 17, pp. 53, 80. J
GREAT BLUE HERON ( Ardea herodias
and sub-species).
Length, from 42 to 50 inches.
Range: Breeds from the southern Canadian
provinces south to southern Lower California,
southern Mexico and South Atlantic States; winters
from Oregon, the Ohio Valley and Middle States
south to the West Indies, Panama and Venezuela.
When one* sees a large bluish bird, with long neck
and stilt-like legs, standing motionless by river,
pond or lake, or slowly wading in the shallows, he
may be sure lie has before him (he great blue heron,
and a notable bird he is in many ways. Wary as this
heron is and keen to scent danger, he offers so tempt-
ing a mark as he wings his way slowly along, with
head and neck drawn in against the body and long
legs trailing behind, or as he stands motionless
watching for game, that he is frequently shot "just
for the fun orit." This wanton taking of life is never
justifiable, but when the life cut short represents so
much beauty and grace as are embodied in this
stately bird, the crime seems doubly heinous.
Naturally this heron is much less common than he
used to be.
Small fish, frogs, tadpoles, and snakes form the
bulk of his food, and in some regions he is a deter-
mined foe of mice and gophers, and the sight of a
heron in the midst of a dry pasture or in a stubble
field watching foi a gopher to emerge from his hole
is very common.
(See Biol. Surv. Bui. 31, p. 52; also Bui. 17, p. 217.)
COMMON TERN (Sterna hirundo).
Length, about lo inches. The pearl-gray breast
and belly distinguish the adult of this tern from its
relatives. The outer web of the outer tail feathers is
darker than the inner web; the reverse is true of
Forster's Tern, its nearest ally.
Range: Breeds from Great Slave Lake, central
Keewatin aiyl southern Quebec south to southwest-
ern Saskatchewan, northern North Dakota, southern
Wisconsin, northern < >hio and North Carolina;
winters from Florida to Brazil.
< )ur common tern is. alas, common no longer. The
Atlantic coast is peculiarly fitted to be the home of
the terns by reason of the extensive shallows and
the great number of sandy islands on which terns
and gulls usikl to breed in absolute safety. At the
bidding of fashion, however, thousands of these
beautiful creatures were slaughtered till the sand
was red with their blood and island colonies that used
to number thousands were exterminated. No excuse
serves to palliate the crime of the wholesale murder
of these graceful sea swallows, as they are aptly
termed, which used to make our shores so attractive
by their presence. But the tide seems to have
turned, partly at least. The Government has set
aside islands as breeding resorts and places of refuge
and, through the activity of Audubon Societies and
of individual workers, a certain measure of safety
seems now* assured to these persecuted birds. It
may even prove possible, by the bird sanctuary plan,
to increase^their numbers again and make them a
familiar sight along our deserted shores. Could the
sentiment of the women of the United States be
united for their protection, all doubt as to the
future of these beautiful creatures would be re-
moved, buL so long as the arbiter of Fashion decrees
feathers on hats, so long will the eternal vigilance of
their friends be needed to assure the safety of the
small remnant of this species and its kindred.
529
Great Horned Owl
Coot
Wood Duck
Male, upper; female, lower
Spotted Sandpiper
530
GREAT HORNED OWL (Bubo virginianus
and sub-species).
Length, about 22 inches. The great size and
long ear tufts sufficiently distinguish this owl.
Range: Resident over the greater part of North
and South America.
This, our largest owl, inhabits heavily forested
and unsettled regions and is becoming more and
more rare in thickly populated areas. It is well
known, by its far reaching call — " hoo-hoo-hoo-
hoo" — which is heard best in the still small hours
of the night, when it echoes across the expanse of
canyon and forest in the far west.
This owl destroys many partridges and other game
birds, and unhoused poultry is never safe from its
nocturnal attacks. Its deeds are those of dark-
ness, since usually it hunts only at night, though
when disturbed in the daytime it can see well enough
to take good care of itself. Its bill of fare is a long
one and includes many kinds of mammals and
birds. It is one of the few creatures which when
hungry do not hesitate to attack the skunk, and
it appears to have no great difficulty in killing
this rather formidable little beast. That it docs not
always do so with entire impunity is evident from
the odor frequently attaching to its feathers. Its
destruction of rodents entitles it to our gratitude,
especially when it kills pocket gophers, rats, mice,
ground squirrels and rabbits. In some parts of the
west rabbits are responsible for much damage to
orchards and crops and consequently their reduction
is a blessing. Nevertheless the protection of this
big and fierce owl cannot be recommended on sound
economic grounds.
WOOD DUCK (Aix sponsa).
Length, about 10 inches. The elongated crest
of feathers and variegated plumage of white and
brown, spotted with chestnut, oehraccous and steel
blue are characteristic.
Range: Breeds from Washington to middle
California, and from Manitoba and southeastern
Canada to Texas and Florida; winters chiefly in
the United States.
It can be said of this duck, as of no other, that
it is our very own, since most of the breeding area
it occupies is*within our territory, and by far the
greater number of the species winter within the
United States: The story of its former abundance
on our ponds ^and streams and of its present scar-
city is a sad commentary on our improvidence
and a warning for the future. Happily, it is not
yet too late to' save this most beautiful of our ducks,
and under proper regulations it may be expected
not only to Irdld its own, but to increase until it
is once more % proper object for the skill of sports-
men. Under present conditions all true sportsmen
should refrain from its further pursuit.
As is well known, the wood duck is one of the
few wildfowl that builds its nest in hollow trees, and
the security thus provided for the young is one of the
factors to be relied upon for the increase of the-
species. North, south, east and west, the States
of every section are, or should be, interested in
the preservation of this distinctively American duck,
and should make suitable regulations for its wel-
fare and see to: their enforcement.
COOT (Fulica americana).
Length, about 15 inches. The slate-colored
plumage, with blackish head and neck, white bill,
and scalloped toes mark this bird apart from all
others.
Range: Breeds from southern Canada south to
Lower California, Texas, Tennessee and New Jersey;
also in southern Mexico and Guatemala; winters
from, southern British Columbia, Nevada, Utah,
Ohio Valley and Virginia south to Panama.
The coot, or mud-hen, is a sort of combination
of duck, galhnule and rail, and withal is a very inter-
esting bird- Fortunately for the coot, its flesh is little
esteemed, and by many, indeed, is considered unfit
for human consumption. The coot is thus passed
by in contempt by most sportsmen, and in some
regions it is as tame as can well be imagined, swim-
ming within a few feet of the observer with entire
unconcern. Under other circumstances, however,
as in Louisiana, where it is shot for food under the
name poule d'eau, it becomes as wild as the most
wary of ducks. It frequents both salt and fresh
water, preferably the latter. The mud-hen is one
of the few American birds that occasionally visits
the distant Hawaiian Islands in fall and winter.
Finding conditions there to their liking, some of the
immigrants, probably centuries ago, elected to re-
main and found a new colony, and there, in the
fresh water ponds of the island archipelago, their
descendants still live and thrive.
The food of the coot consists almost entirely
of water plants of no use to man. There would
seem, therefore, to be no excuse for killing or dis-
turbing the bird in any way.
SPOTTED SANDPIPER (Actitis macularia).
Length, about 6 inches. The "tip up," with
its brownish gray upper parts and white under
parts and its teetering motion, is too well known
to need description.
Range: Breeds in northwestern Alaska and in
much of northern Canada south to southern Cali-
fornia, Arizona, southern Texas, southern Loui-
siana and northern South- Carolina; winters from
California, Louisiana and South Carolina to south-
ern Brazil and Peru.
The little 'Hip up," as it is appropriately named,
from its quaint nodding motion, unduly favors no
one section or community but elects to dwell in every
region suited to its needs from Alaska to Florida.
It is doubtless- more widely known than any other
of our shore birds, and as it takes wing when dis-
turbed, its "wit, wit" comes to us from beach,
river side, and mill pond, from one end of the land
to the other. It is the only shore bird that habitu
ally nests in cornfields and pastures, and its hand
some buff eggs spotted with chocolate are well
known to the farmer's boy everywhere. Much
is to be said in favor of the food habits of the little
tip up, as the bird includes in its diet army worms,
squash bugs, cabbage worms, grasshoppers, green
flies and crayfishes. Having thus earned a right
to be numbered among the farmers' friends, the
bird should be exempt from persecution. The tiny
morsel of flesh afforded by its plump little body,
when the bird has been shot, is in no sense an
adequate return for its services when alive and
active in our behalf.
531
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Vol. XXIV, No. 6
WASHINGTON
June, 1913
THE
ATEONAL
(DKEKAIPHPiC
A GEOGRAPHIC ACHIEVEMENT
THROUGH the courtesy of the
Secretary of Agriculture, the Na-
tional Geographic Magazine
reprints on pages 669-697 of this num-
ber "Fifty Common Birds of Farm and
Orchard," which was prepared under the
direction of Henry W. Henshaw, Chief
of the Bureau of the Biological Survey,
and published as Farmers' Bulletin 513
of the U. S. Department of Agriculture.
The illustrations are all from drawings
made by Mr. Louis Agassiz Fuertes, the
skillful painter of American birds.
To obtain the exquisite and delicate
colors of the pictures, which are such
faithful portrayals of the birds, the
printed sheets had to pass through the
presses eight times, therefore represent-
ing nearly two million impressions. This
immense amount of work naturally in-
volved a very large expense, but the
National Geographic Magazine felt
justified in spending the many thousands
of dollars to republish this wonderful
bulletin in order that every reader of the
Geographic may have in the household
this helpful guide and the accurate and
useful information that it contains. The
huge outlay required for this colored
work would, however, not have been pos-
sible but for the great recent increase in
the circulation of the Magazine, which
has enabled us to bring the cost per copy
within reach by distributing the expense
over the larger edition.
With the help of these beautiful pic-
tures and clear text the reader will be
able easily to identify fifty of our com-
mon birds. While this valuable contri-
bution will be specially serviceable in the
summer months, when our readers spend
more time in the open, it will prove an
equally convenient introduction to some
of our feathered friends throughout the
entire year.
Just as remarkable as the fifty beauti-
ful pictures is the quantity of concise
information given about each individual
bird, and which is the result of long study
by some of the best bird men and women
in America. For many years the experts
of the Biological Survey have been mak-
ing accurate tests to determine which
birds are useful to man and which de-
structive. The contents of the stomachs
of many thousands of specimens have
been analyzed with a view of finding
whether the bird helps the farmer by eat-
ing injurious insects and noxious weeds,
or hurts the farmer by eating his fruits
and grain.
These investigations have shown that,
with rare exceptions, birds are useful
everywhere, and that without their help
successful agriculture would be impossi-
ble. "The activity of birds in the pur-
suit of insects is still further stimulated
by the fact that the young of most spe-
cies, even those which are by no means
strictly insectivorous, require great quan-
tities of animal food in the early weeks
of existence, so that during the summer
months — the flood time of insect life —
birds are compelled to redouble their at-
668
THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE
tacks on our insect foes to satisfy the
wants of their clamorous young" (see
page 671). "A nest with four young of
the chipping sparrow was watched at dif-
ferent hours on four days. In the seven
hours of observation 119 feedings were
noted, or an average of 17 feedings per
hour, or 4% feedings per hour to each
nestling. This would give for a day of
14 hours at least 238 insects eaten by
the brood" (see page 682).
Even our hawks and owls, with the
exception of Cooper's hawk (see page
694) and one or two others, are desir-
able, and their presence around a garden
or farm should be welcomed, because
with their voracious appetites they keep
down the numbers of mice and rats and
other pests which may torment the coun-
try home. As many as 100 grasshoppers
have been found in the stomach of a
Swainson's hawk, representing a single
meal; and in the retreat of a pair of
barn owls have been found more than
3,000 skulls, 97 per cent of which were
of mammals, the bulk consisting of field
mice, house mice, and common rats (see
page 670).
A lack of knowledge of the value of
certain birds may prove disastrous and
cause the destruction of valuable birds
which cannot be replaced in years. Some
years ago the legislature of the State of
Pennsylvania offered a bounty on hawks
and owls, which resulted in the killing of
over 100,000 of these birds. As almost
all of those killed were beneficial, it was
calculated by Dr. C. Hart Merriam, then
chief of the U. S. Biological Survey, that
the State of Pennsylvania sustained a
loss of nearly four million dollars in
eighteen months. The legislature soon
realized its mistake and abolished the
bounty.
Quite apart from any question of senti-
ment, the preservation of our bird life
is a matter of great national importance,
and every effort should be made to assist
our policemen of the air in keeping Na-
ture's balance true.
The bird portraits in colors were
printed by the Sackett & Wilhelms Litho-
graph Company of Brooklyn, N. Y.
UST OF BIRDS DESCRIBED AND INDEX
Page
Bluebird 673
Robin 673
Russet-backed thrush 674
Ruby-crowned kinglet 674
Chickadee 675
White-breasted nuthatch 675
Brown creeper 676
House wren 676
Brown thrasher 677
Catbird 677
Mocking bird 678
Myrtle warbler 678
Loggerhead shrike 679
Barn swallow 679
Purple martin 680
Black-headed grosbeak. 680
Rose-breasted grosbeak 681
Song sparrow 681
Chipping sparrow 682
White-crowned sparrow 682
English sparrow 683
Crow blackbird 683
Brewer's blackbird 684
Bullock's oriole 684
Meadowlarks 685
Red-winged blackbird 685
Bobolink 686
Common crow 686
California jay 687
Blue jay 687
Horned lark 688
Arkansas kingbird. 688
Kingbird 689
Nighthawk 689
Flicker 690
Yellow-bellied sapsucker 690
Downy woodpecker 691
Yellow-billed cuckoo 691
Screech owl 692
Barn owl 692
Sparrow hawk 693
Red-tailed hawk 693
Cooper's hawk. 694
Mourning dove 694
Ruffed grouse 695
Bobwhite 695
Killdeer 696
Upland plover 696
Black tern 697
Franklin's gull 697
FIFTY COMMON BIRDS OF FARM AND
ORCHARD
Prepared under the direction of Henry W . Henshaw, Chief of the
Biological Survey, as Bulletin 5/j of the U. S. Department of Agri-
culture, and reprinted in full in the National Geographic Magazine,
pages 669-69J, by special permission of the Secretary of Agriculture.
INTRODUCTION.
This bulletin is intended to serve the very practical purpose of enabling our farmers
and their boys and girls to identify the birds that frequent the farm and orchard. The
material prosperity of State and Nation depends largely on agriculture, and any agent
that serves to increase the size of crops and insure their certainty is of direct interest
and importance to the farmer. Birds constitute one of the most valuable of these
agents, since they depend largely for their food on insects which are among the farmer's
most dreaded foes.
Entomologists have estimated that insects yearly cause a loss of upwards of
$700,000,000 to the agricultural interests of the United States. Were it not for our birds
the loss would be very much greater, and indeed it is believed that without the aid
of our feathered friends successful agriculture would be impossible. A knowledge of
the birds that protect his crops is, therefore, as important to the farmer as a knowledge
of the insect pests that destroy them. Such knowledge is the more important because
the relation of birds to man's interests is extremely complex. Thus, while it may be
said that most of our birds are useful, there are only a few of them that are always and
everywhere useful and that never do harm. Insectivorous birds, for instance, destroy,
along with a vast number of harmful insects, some parasitic and predatory kinds.
These latter are among Nature's most effective agents for keeping destructive insects
in check. To the extent, then, that birds destroy useful parasitic insects, they are
harmful. But, taking the year round, the good they do by the destruction of insects
injurious to man's interests far outweighs the little harm they do. It may be said,
too, that of the birds usually classed as noxious there are very few that do not possess
redeeming traits. Thus the crow is mischievous in spring and sorely taxes the farmer's
patience and ingenuity to prevent him from pulling up the newly planted corn.
Moreover, the crow destroys the eggs and young of useful insectivorous and game
birds; but, on the other hand, he eats many insects, especially white grubs and cut-
worms, and destroys many meadow mice, so that in much (although not all) of the
region he inhabits the crow must be considered to be more useful than harmful. Most
of the hawks and owls even — birds that have received so bad a name that the farmer's
boy and the sportsman are ever on the alert to kill them — are very useful because
they destroy vast numbers of insects and harmful rodents.
Birds occupy a unique position among the enemies of insects, since their powers
of flight enable them at short notice to gather at points where there are abnormal insect
outbreaks. An unusual abundance of grasshoppers, for instance, in a given locality
soon attracts the birds from a wide area, and as a rule their visits cease only when there
are no grasshoppers left. So also a marked increase in the number of small rodents in a
given neighborhood speedily attracts the attention of hawks and owls, which, by
reason of their voracious appetites, soon produce a marked diminution of the swarm-
ing foe.
America is greatly favored in the number and character of its birds, which not only
include some of the gems of the bird world, as the warblers and humming birds, but
669
on the whole embrace few destructive species. Not only do many birds satisfy our
esthetic sense through their beautiful plumage and their sweet voices, but they are
marvelously adapted to their respective fields of activity. No other creatures are so
well fitted to capture flying insects as swallows, swifts, and nighthawks. Among the
avian ranks also are wrens, trim of body and agile of movement, that creep in and out of
holes and crevices and explore rubbish heaps for hidden insects. The woodpecker,
whose whole body exhibits wonderful adaptation of means to end, is provided with
strong claws for holding firmly when at work, a chisel-like bill driven by powerful
muscles to dig out insects, and a long extensible tongue to still further explore the
hidden retreats of insects and drag forth the concealed larvae, safe from other foes.
The creepers, titmice, warblers, flycatchers, quails, doves, and other families have
each their own special field of activity ; However unlike they may be in appearance,
structure, and habits, all are similar in one respect — they possess a never flagging
appetite for insects and weed seeds.
One of the most useful groups of native birds is the sparrow family. While some
of the tribe wear gay suits of many hues, most of the sparrows are clad in modest brown
tints, and as they spend much of the time in grass and weeds are commonly over-
looked. Unobtrusive as they are, they lay the farmer under a heavy debt of gratitude
by their food habits, since their chosen fare consists largely of the seeds of weeds.
Selecting a typical member of the group, the tree sparrow, for instance, one-fourth
ounce of weed seed per day is a conservative estimate of the food of an adult. On this
basis, in a large agricultural State like Iowa tree sparrows annually eat approximately
875 tons of weed seeds. Only the farmer, upon whose shoulders falls the heavy
burden of freeing his land of noxious weeds, can realize what this vast consumption
of weed seeds means in the saving and cost of labor. Some idea of the money value
of this group of birds to the country may be gained from the statement that the total
value of the farm products in the United States in 1910 reached the amazing sum of
$8,926,000,000. If we estimate that the total consumption of weed seed by the com-
bined members of the sparrow family resulted in a saving of only 1 per cent of the
crops — not a violent assumption — the sum saved to farmers by these birds in 1910
was $89,260,000.
The current idea in relation to hawks and owls is erroneous. These birds are
generally classed as thieves and robbers, whereas a large majority of them are the
farmers' friends and spend the greater part of their long lives in pursuit of injurious
insects and rodents. The hawks work by day, the owls chiefly by night, so that the
useful activities of the two classes are continued practically throughout the 24 hours.
As many as 100 grasshoppers have been found in the stomach of a Swainson's hawk,
representing a single meal; and in the retreat of a pair of barn owls have been found
more than 3,000 skulls, 97 per cent of which were of mammals, the bulk consisting of
field mice, house mice, and common rats. Nearly half a bushel of the remains of
pocket gophers — animals which are very destructive in certain parts of the United
States — was found near a nest of this species. The notable increase of noxious rodents
during the last few years in certain parts of the United States and the consequent
damage to crops are due in no small part to the diminished number of birds of prey,
which formerly destroyed them and aided in keeping down their numbers. A few
hawks are injurious, and the bulk of the depredations on birds and chickens charge-
able against hawks is committed by three species — the Cooper's hawk, the sharp-
shinned hawk, and the goshawk. The farmer's boy should learn to know these daring
robbers by sight, so as to kill them whenever possible.
From the foregoing it will at once appear that the practice of offering bounties
indiscriminately for the heads of hawks and owls, as has been done by some States,
is a serious mistake, the result being not only a waste of public funds but the destruc-
tion of valuable birds which can be replaced, if at all, only after the lapse of years.
670
As a rule birds do not live very long, but they live fast. They breathe rapidly
and have a higher temperature and a more rapid circulation than other vertebrates.
This is a fortunate circumstance, since to generate the requisite force to sustain their
active bodies a large quantity of food is necessary, and as amatter of fact birds have
to devote most of their waking hours to obtaining insects, seeds, berries, and other
kinds of food. The activity of birds in the pursuit of insects is still further stimulated
by the fact that the young of most species, even those which are by no means strictly
insectivorous, require great quantities of animal food in the early weeks of existence,
so that during the summer months — the flood time of insect life — birds are compelled
to redouble their attacks on our insect foes to satisfy the wants of their clamorous
young.
Field observations of the food habits of birds serve a useful purpose, but they are
rarely accurate enough to be fully reliable. The presence of certain birds in a com
or wheat field or in an orchard is by no means proof, as is too often assumed, that they
are devastating the grain or fruit. They may have been attracted by insects which,
unknown to the farmer or orchardist, are fast ruining his crop. Hence it has been
found necessary to examine the stomachs and crops of birds to ascertain definitely
what and how much they eat. The Biological Survey has in this way examined
upward of 50,000 birds, most of which have been obtained during the last 25 years
from scientific collectors, for our birds are too useful to be sacrificed when it can
possibly be avoided, even for the sake of obtaining data upon which to base legis-
lation for their protection.
It is interesting to observe that hungry birds — and birds are hungry most of the
time — are not content to fill their stomachs with insects or seeds, but after the stom-
ach is stuffed until it will hold no more continue to eat till the crop or gullet also is
crammed . It is often the case that when the stomach is opened and the contents piled
up the pile is two or three times as large as the stomach was when filled. Birds may
truly be said to have healthy appetites. To show the astonishing capacity of birds'
stomachs and to reveal the extent to which man is indebted to birds for the de-
struction of noxious insects, the following facts are given as learned by stomach
examinations made by assistants of the Biological Survey:
A tree swallow's stomach was found to contain 40 entire chinch bugs and fragments
of many others, besides 10 other species of insects. A bank swallow in Texas devoured
68 cotton-boll weevils, one of the worst insect pests that ever invaded the United
States; and 35 cliff swallows had taken an average of 18 boll weevils each. Two
stomachs of pine siskins from Haywards, Cal., contained 1,900 black olive scales and
300 plant lice. A killdeer's stomach taken in November in Texas contained over
300 mosquito larvae. A flicker's stomach held 28 white grubs. A nighthawk's
stomach collected in Kentucky contained 34 May beetles, the adult form of white
grubs. Another nighthawk from New York had eaten 24 clover-leaf weevils and 375
ants. Still another nighthawk had eaten 340 grasshoppers, 52 bugs, 3 beetles, 2
wasps, and a spider. A boat-tailed grackle from Texas had eaten at one meal about
100 cotton bollworms, besides a few other insects. A ring-necked pheasant's crop
from Washington contained 8,000 seeds of chickweed and a dandelion head. More
than 72,000 seeds have been found in a single duck stomach taken in Louisiana in
February.
A knowledge of his bird friends and enemies, therefore, is doubly important to the
farmer and orchardist in order that he may protect the kinds that earn protection by
their services and may drive away or destroy the others. At the present time many
kinds of useful birds need direct intervention in their behalf as never before. The
encroachments of civilization on timbered tracts and the methods of modern intensive
cultivation by destroying or restricting breeding grounds of hirds tend to diminish
their ranks. The number of insect pests, on the other hand, is all the time increasing
by leaps and bounds through importations from abroad and by migration from adjoin-
671
ing territories. Every effort, therefore, should be made to augment the numbers of
our useful birds by protecting them from their enemies, by providing nesting facilities,
and by furnishing them food in times of stress, especially in winter.
Important in this connection is the planting near the house and even in out-of-the-
way places on the farm of various berry-bearing shrubs, many of which are ornamental,
which will supply food when snow is on the ground. Other species which are not
berry eaters, like the woodpeckers, nuthatches, creepers, and chickadees, can be
made winter residents of many farms, even in the North, by putting out at convenient
places a Biipply of suet, of which they and many other birds are very fond, even in
summer. Hedges and thickets about the farm are important to furnish nesting sites
and shelter both from the elements and from the numerous enemies of birds.
Few are aware of the difficulty often experienced by birds in obtaining water for
drinking and bathing, and a constant supply of water near the farmhouse will materially
aid in attracting birds to the neighborhood and in keeping them there, at least till the
time of migration. Shallow trays of wood or metal admirably serve the purpose,
especially as birds delight to bathe in them.
Considerable success has been met with in Germany and elsewhere in Europe by
supplying artificial nest boxes for birds, and the same method of increasing the number
of birds and attracting them to farms and orchards where their services are most needed
should be extensively employed in this country. The experiment can the more
easily be tried since several firms in the United States are now prepared to make and
deliver boxes specially designed for martins, swallows, bluebirds, wrens, woodpeckers,
and other species. The average farmer's boy, however, if provided with a few tools,
is quite equal to the task of making acceptable boxes for the commoner species, which
are far from fastidious as to the appearance of the box intended for their occupancy.
One of the worst foes of our native birds is the house cat, and probably none of our
native wild animals destroys as many birds on the farm, particularly fledglings, as cats .
The household pet is by no means blameless in this respect, for the bird-hunting
instinct is strong even in the well-fed tabby; but much of the loss of our feathered
life is attributable to the half-starved stray, which in summer is as much at home in
the groves and fields as the birds themselves. Forced to forage for their own liveli-
hood, these animals, which are almost as wild as the ancestral wildcat, inflict an
appalling loss on our feathered allies and even on the smaller game birds like the
woodcock and bobwhite. If cats are to find place in the farmer's household, every
effort should be made by carefully feeding and watching them to insure the safety
of the birds. The cat without a home should be mercifully put out of the way.
In the present bulletin 50 of our commoner birds are discussed, including some
that are destructive. They inhabit various parts of the country, and it is for the
interest of the farmers of the respective localities to be familiar with them. A colored
illustration of each species is given so as to enable the reader to identify the bird
at a glance and to permit the descriptive text, at best an unsatisfactory method of
identification, to be cut down or altogether dispensed with. The birds were drawn
from nature by the well-known bird artist, Louis Agassiz Fuertes. The accounts
of the birds' habits are necessarily brief, but they are believed to be sufficient to
acquaint the reader with the most prominent characteristics of the several species,
at least from the standpoint of their relation to man.
672
BLUEBIRD (Sialia sialis).
Length,* about 6J inches.
Range: Breeds in the United States (west to
Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana),
southern Canada, Mexico, and Guatemala; win-
ters in the southern half of the eastern United
States and south to Guatemala.
Habits and economic status: The bluebird is
one of the most familiar tenants of the farm and
dooryard. Everywhere it is hailed as the har-
binger of spring, and wherever it chooses to
reside it is sure of a warm welcome. This
bird, like the robin, phoebe, house wren, and
some swallows, is very domestic in ita habits.
Its favorite nesting sites are crannies in the
farm huildings or boxes made for its use or
natural cavities in old apple trees. For rent
the bird pays amply by destroying insects, and
it takes no toll from the farm crop. The blue-
bird's diet consists of 68 per cent of insects to
32 per cent of vegetable matter. The largest
items of insect food are grasshoppers first and beetles next, while caterpillars
stand third. All of these are harmful except a few of the beetles. The vege-
table food consists chiefly of fruit pulp, only an insignificant portion of which is
of cultivated varieties. Among wild fruits elderberries, are the favorite. From
the above it will be Been that the bluebird does no essential harm, but on the con-
trary eats many harmful and annoying insects. (See Farmers' Bui. 54, pp. 46-48.)
ROBIN (Planesticus migratorius).
Length, 10 inches.
Range: Breeds in the United States (except the Gulf States), Canada, Alaska,
and Mexico; winters in most of the United States and south to Guatemala.
Habits and economic status: In the North and some parts of the West the
robin is among the most cherished of our native birds. Should it ever become
rare where now common, its joyous summer song and familiar presence will be
sadly missed in many a homestead. The robin is an omnivorous feeder, and its
food includes many orders of insects, with no very pronounced preference for any.
It is very fond of earthworms, but its real economic status is determined by the veg-
etable f ood , which amounts to about 58 per cent of all . The principal item is fruit,
which forms more than 51 per cent of the total
food. The fact that in the examination of over
1,200 stomachs the percentage of wild fruit was
found to be 5 times that of the cultivated varie-
ties suggests that berry-bearing shrubs , if planted
near the orchard, will serve to protect more
valuable fruits. In California in certain years
it has been possible to save the olive crop from
hungry robins only by the most strenuous exer-
tions and considerable expense. The bird's
general usefulness is such, however, that all
reasonable means of protecting orchard fruit
should be tried before killing the birds. (See
Farmers' Bui. 54, pp. 44-46.)
* Measured from tip of bill to tip of tall.
673
RUSSET-BACKED THRUSH (Hyloclchla
ustulata).
Length, 7J inches. Among thrushes having
the top of head and tail nearly the same color
as the back, this one is distinguished by its
tawny eye-ring and cheeks. The Pacific coast
subspecies is russet brown above, while the
other subspecies is the olive-backed thrush.
The remarks below apply to the species as a
whole.
Range: Breeds in the forested parts of Alaska
and Canada and south to California, Colorado,
Michigan, New Y.ork, West Virginia (moun-
tains), and Maine; winters from Mexico to
South America.
Habits and economic status: This is one of a
small group of thrushes the members of which
are by many ranked first among American song-
birds. The several members resemble one an-
other in size, plumage, and habits. While this
thrush is very fond of fruit, its partiality for the neighborhood of streams keeps it
from frequenting orchards far from water. It is most troublesome during the
cherry season, when the young are in the nest. From this it might be inferred
that the young are fed on fruit, but such is not the case. The adults eat fruit, but
the nestlings, as usual, are fed mostly upon insects. Beetles constitute the largest
item of animal food, and ants come next. Many caterpillars also are eaten. The
great bulk of vegetable food consists of fruit, of which two-fifths is of cultivated
varieties. Where these birds live in or near gardens or orchards, they may do
considerable damage, but they are too valuable as insect destroyers to be killed if
the fruit can be protected in any other way. (See Biol. Surv. Bui. 30, pp. 86-92.)
***
RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET (Regulus calendula).
Length, about 4J inches. Olive green above, soiled whitish below, concealed
feathers on head (crest) bright red.
Range: Breeds in southern Canada, southern Alaska, and the higher moun-
tains of the western United States; winters in much of the United States and
south to Guatemala.
Habits and economic status: In habits and haunts this tiny sprite resembles
a chickadee. It is an active, nervous little creature, flitting hither and yon in
search of food, and in spring stopping only long enough to utter its beau-
tiful song, surprisingly loud for the size of the
musician. Three-fourths of its food consists
of wasps, bugs, and flies. Beetles are the only
other item of importance (12 per cent). The
bugs eaten by tfre kinglet are mostly small,
but, happily, they are the most harmful kinds.
Treehoppers, leafhoppers, and jumping plant
lice are pests and often do great harm to trees
and smaller plants, while plant lice and scale
insects are the worst scourges of the fruit
grower — in fact, the prevalence of the latter
has almost risen to the magnitude of a national
peril. It is these small and seemingly insig-
nificant birds that most successfully attack and
hold in check these insidious foes of horticul-
ture. The vegetable food consists of seeds of
poison ivy, or poison oak, a few weed seeds,
and a few small -fruits, mostly elderberries.
(See Biol. Surv. Bui. 30, pp. 81-84.)
674
CHICKADEE (Penthestes atricapillusj.
Length, about 5£ inches.
Range: Resident in the United States (ex-
cept the southern half east of the plains),
Canada, and Alaska.
Habits and economic status: Because of its
delightful notes, its confiding ways, and its
fearlessness, the chickadee is one of our best-
known birds. It responds to encouragement,
and by hanging within its reach a constant
supply of suet the chickadee can be made a
regular visitor to the garden and orchard.
Though insignificant in size, titmice are far
from Deing so from the economic standpoint,
owing to their numbers and activity. While
one locality is being scrutinized for food by
a larger bird, 10 are being searched by the
smaller species. The chickadee's food is made
up of insects and vegetable matter in the pro-
portion of 7 of the former to 3 of the latter. Moths and caterpillars are favorites
and form about one-third of the whole. Beetles, ants, wasps, bugs, flies, grass-
hoppers, and Bpiders make up the rest. The vegetable food is composed of
seeds, largely those of pines, with a few of the poison ivy and some weeds. There
are few more useful birds than the chickadees. (See Farmers' Bui. 54, pp. 43-44.)
WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH (Sitta carolinensis).
Length, 6 inches. White below, above gray, with a black head.
Range: Resident in the United States, southern Canada, and Mexico.
Habits and economic status: This bird might
readily be mistaken by a careless observer for a
small woodpecker, but its note, an oft-repeated
yank, is very unwoodpecker-like, and, unlike
either woodpeckers or creepers, it climbs down-
ward as easily as upward and seems to set the
laws of gravity at defiance. The name was sug-
fested by the habit of wedging nuts, especially
eechnuts, in the crevices of bark so as to
break them open by blows from the sharp,
strong bill. Tie nuthatch gets its living from
the trunks and branches of trees, over which
it creeps from daylight to dark. Insects and
spiders constitute a little more than 50 per
cent of its food. The largest items of these are
beetles, moths, and caterpillars, with ants and
wasps. The animal food is all in the bird's
favor except a few ladybird beetles. More than
half of the vegetable food consists of mast, i. e.,
acorns and other nuts or large seeds. One-
tenth of the food is grain, mostly waste corn.
The nuthatch does no injury, so far as known,
and much good.
675
BROWN CREEPER (Certhia familiaris .
americana and other subspecies).
Length, 5£ inches.
Range: Breeds from Nebraska, Indiana,
North Carolina (mountains), and Massachusetts
north to southern Canada, also in the mountains
of the western United States, north to Alaska,
south to Nicaragua; winters over most of its
range.
Habits and economic status: Rarely indeed
is the creeper seen at rest. It appears to spend
its life in an inces'sant scramble over the trunks
and branches of trees, from which it gets all
its food. It is protectively colored so as to be
practically invisible to its enemies and, though
delicately built, possesses amazingly strong
claws and feet. Ijts tiny eyes are sharp enough
to detect insects so small that most other species
pass them by, and altogether the creeper fills
a unique place in the ranks of our insect
destroyers. The food consists of minute in-
sects and insects' eggs, also cocoons of tineid
moths, small wasps, ants, and bugs, especially
scales and plant lice, with some small cater-
pillars. As the creeper remains in the United
States throughout the year, it naturally secures hibernating insects and insects'
eggs, as well as spiders and spiders' eggs, that are missed by the summer birds.
On its bill of fare we find no product of husbandry nor any useful insects.
HOUSE WREN (Troglodytes aedon).
Length, 41 inches. The only one of our wrens with wholly whitish under-
parts that lacks a light line over the eye.
Range: Breeds throughout the United States (except the South Atlantic and
Gulf States) and southern Canada; winters in the'southern United States and
Mexico.
Habits and economic status: The rich, bubbling song of the familiar little
house wren is one of the sweetest associations connected with country and
suburban life. Its tiny body, long bill, sharp eyes, and strong feet peculiarly
adapt it for creeping into all sorts of nooks and
crannies where lurk the insects it feeds on. A
cavity in a fence post, a hole in a tree, or a
box will be welcomed alike by this busybody
as a nesting site; but since the advent of the
quarrelsome English sparrow such domiciles
are at a premium and the wren's eggs and
family are safe only in cavities having en-
trances too small to admit the sparrow. Hence
it behooves the farmer's boy to provide boxes
the entrances to which are about an inch in
diameter, nailing these under gables of barns
and outhouses or* in orchard trees. In this
way the numbers of this useful bird can be
increased, greatly to the advantage of the
farmer. Grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars,
bugs, and spiders are the principal elements of
its food. Cutworms, weevils, ticks, and plant
lice are among the injurious forms eaten. The
nestlings of house wrens consume great quan-
tities of insects. (See Yearbook U. S. Dept
Agric. 1895, pp. 416-418, and Biol. Survey
Bui. 30, pp. 60-62.)
676
BROWN THRASHER (Toxostoma rufum).
Length, about 11 inches. Brownish red
above, heavily streaked with black below.
Range: Breeds from the Gulf States to south-
ern Canada and west to Colorado, Wyoming, and
Montana; winters in the southern half of the
eastern United States.
Habits and economic status: The brown
thrasher is more retiring than either the mock-
ing bird or catbird, but like them is a splendid
singer. Not infrequently, indeed, its song is
taken for that of its more famed cousin, the
mockingbird. It is partial to thickets and geta
much of its food from the ground. Its search
for this is usually accompanied by much scratch-
ing and scattering of leaves; whence its common
name. Its call note is a sharp sound like the
smacking of lips, which is useful in identifying
this long-tailed, thicket-haunting bird, which
does not much relish close scrutiny. The brown
thrasher is not so fond of fruit as the catbird and
mocker, but devours a much larger percentage
of animal food. Beetles form one-half of the
animal food, grasshoppers and crickets one-fifth, caterpillars, including cutworms,
somewhat less than one-fifth, and bugs, spiders, and millipeds comprise most of
the remainder. The brown thrasher feeds on such coleopterous pesta as wire-
worms, May beetles, rice weevils, rose beetles, and figeaters. By its destruction
of these and other insects, which constitute more than 60 per cent of its food,
the thrasher much more than compensates for that portion (about one-tenth) of
its diet derived from cultivated crops. (See Yearbook U. S. Dept. Agric. 1895,
pp. 411-415.)
CATBIRD (Dumetella carolinensis).
Length, about 9 inches. The slaty gray plumage and black cap and tail are
distinctive.
Range : Breeds throughout the United States west to New Mexico, Utah, Oregon,
and Washington, and in southern Canada; winters from the Gulf States to Panama.
Habits and economic status: In many localities the catbird is one of the com-
monest birds. Tangled growths are its favorite nesting places and retreats, but
berry patches and ornamental shrubbery are
not disdained. Hence the bird is a familiar
dooryard visitor. The bird has a fine song,
unfortunately marred by occasional cat calls.
With habits similar to those of the mocking
bird and a song almost as varied, the catbird
has never secured a similar place in popular
favor. Half of its food consists of fruit, and
the cultivated crops most often injured are
cherries, strawberries, raspberries, and black-
berries. Beetles, ante, crickets, and grasshop-
pers are the most important element of its
animal food. The bird is known to attack a
few pests, as cutworms, leaf beetles, clover-root
curculio, and the periodical cicada, but the
good it does in this way probably does not pay
for the fruit it steals. The extent to which it
should be protected may perhaps be left to the
individual cultivator; that is, it should be made
lawful to destroy catbirds that are doing mani-
fest damage to crops. (See Yearbook U. S.
Dept. Agric. 1895, pp. 406-411.)
677
MOCKING BIRO (Mimus polyglottos).
Length, 10 inches. Most easily distinguished
from the similarly colored loggerhead shrike
(see p. 679) by the absence of a conspicuous
black stripe through the eye.
Range: Resident from southern Mexico north
to California, Wyoming, Iowa, Ohio, and Mary-
land; casual farther north.
Habits and economic status: Because of its
incomparable medleys and imitative powers,
the mocking bird is the most renowned singer
of the Western Hemisphere. Even in confine-
ment it is a masterly performer, and formerly
thousands were trapped and sold for cage birds,
but this reprehensible practice has been largely
stopped by protective laws. It is not surpris-
ing, therefore, that the mocking bird should re-
ceive protection principally because of its ability
as a songster and its; preference for the vicinity
of dwellings. Its place in the affections of the
South is similar to that occupied by the robin
in the North. It is well that this is true, for
the bird appears not to earn protection from a
strictly economic standpoint. About half of its
diet consists of fruit, and many cultivated va-
rieties are attacked, such as oranges, grapes,
figs, strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries.
Somewhat less than a fourth of the food is animal matter, and grasshoppers are the
largest single element. The bird is fond of cotton worms, and is known to feed also
on the chinch bug, rice weevil, and bollworm. It is unfortunate that it does not
feed on injurious insects to an extent sufficient to offset its depredations on fruit.
(See Yearbook U. S. Dept. Agric. 1895, pp. 415-416, and Biol. Survey Bui. 30,
pp. 52-56.)
MYRTLE WARBLER (Dendroica coronata).
Length, 5J inches. The similarly colored Audubon's warbler has a yellow
throat instead of a white one.
Range: Breeds throughout most of the forested area of Canada and south to
Minnesota, Michigan, New York, and Massachu-
setts; winters in the southern two-thirds of the
United States and south to Panama.
Habits and economic status: This member of
our beautiful wood warbler family, a family pecul-
iar to America, has the characteristic voice, col-
oration, and habits of its kind. Trim of form and
graceful of motion, when seeking food it combines
the methods of the wrens, creepers, and flycatch-
ers. It breeds only in the northern parts of the
eastern United States, but in migration it occurs
in every patch of woodland and is so numerous
that it is familiar to every observer. Its place
is taken in the West by Audubon's warbler.
More than three-fourths of the food of the
myrtle warbler consists of insects, practically
all of them harmful. It is made up of small
beetles, including some weevils, with many
ants and wasps. This bird is so small and nim-
ble that it successfully attacks insects too minute
to be prey for larger birds . Scales and plant lice
form a very considerable part of ite diet. Flies
are the largest item of food; in fact, only a few
flycatchers and swallows eat as many flies as this
bird. The vegetable food (22 per cent) is made
up of fruit and the seeds of poison oak or ivy, also
the seeds of pine and of the bay berry.
678
LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE (Laniua ludovici-
anus).
Length, about 9 itichea. A gray, black, and
white Tbird, distinguished from the somewhat
similarly colored mocking bird by the black
stripe on side of head.
Range: Breeds throughout the United States,
Mexico, and southern Canada; winters in the
southern half of the United States and in
Mexico.
Habits and economic status: The loggerhead
shrike, or southern butcher bird, is common
throughout its range and is sometimes called
"French mocking bird" from a superficial re-
semblance and not from its notes, which are
harsh and unmusical. The shrike is naturally
an insectivorous bird which has extended its
bill of fare to include small mammals, birds,
and reptiles. Its hooked beak is well adapted
to tearing its prey, while to make amends for
the lack of talons it has hit upon the plan of
forcing its victim, if too large to swallow, into
the fork of a bush or tree, where it can tear it asunder. Insects, especially
grasshoppers, constitute the larger part of its food, though beetles, moths,
caterpillars, ants, wasps, and a few spiders also are -taken. While the butcher
bird occasionally catches small birds, its principal vertebrate food is small
mammals, as field mice, shrews, and moles, and when possible it obtains
lizards. It habitually impales its surplus prey on a thorn, sharp twig, or barb
of a wire fence. (See Biol. Survey Bui. 9, pp. 20-24," and Bui. 30, pp. 33-38.)
BARN SWALLOW (Hirundo erythrogastra).
Length, about 7 inches. Distinguished among our swallows by deeply forked tail .
Range: Breeds throughout the United States (except the South Atlantic
and Gulf States) and most of Canada; winters in South America.
Habits and economic status : This is one of the most familiar birds of the farm and
one of the greatest insect destroyers. From day-
light todarkon tireless wings it seeks its prey, and
the insects destroyed are countless. Its favorite
nesting site is a barn rafter, upon which it sticks
its mud basket. Most modernbarns are so tightly
constructed that swallows can not gain entrance,
and in New England and some other parts of the
country barn swallows are much less numerous
than formerly. Farmers can easily provide for
the entrance and exit of the birds and so add
materially to their numbers. It may be well to
add that the parasites that sometimes infest the
nests of swallows are not the ones the careful
housewife dreads, and no fear need be felt of
the infestation spreading to the houses. Insects
taken on the wing constitute the almost exclu-
sive diet of the barn swallow. More than one-
third of the whole consists of flies, including
unfortunately some useful parasitic species.
Beetles stand next in order and consist of a few
weevils and many of the small dung beetles of
the May beetle family that swarm over the
pastures in the late afternoon. Ants amount
to more than one-fifth of the whole food, while
wasps and bees are well represented.
679
PURPLE MARTIN (Progne subis).
Length, about 8 inchea.
Range: Breeds throughout the United Statea
and southern Canada,, south to central Mexico;
winters in South America.
Habits and economic status: This is the
largest as it is one of the most beautiful of the
swallow tribe. It formerly built its nests in
cavities of trees, as it still does in wild districts,
but learning that man was a friend it soon
adopted domestic habits. Its presence about
the farm can often be secured by erecting houses
suitable for nesting "sites and protecting them
from usurpation by the English sparrow, and
every effort should be made to increase the
number of colonies of this very useful bird.
The boxes should be at a reasonable height,
say 15 feet from the ground, and made inac-
cessible to cats. A colony of these birds on a
farm makes great inroads upon the insect popu-
lation, as the birds not only themselves feed
upon insects but rear their young upon the
same diet. Fifty years ago in New England it
was not uncommon to see colonies of 50 pairs
of martins, but most of them have now vanished
for no apparent reason except that the martin houses have decayed and have
not been renewed. More than three-fourths of this bird's food consists of wasps,
bugs, and beetles, their importance being in the order given. The beetles include
several species of harmful weevils, as the clover-leaf we'evils and the nut weevils.
Besides these are many crane flies, moths, May flies, and dragonflies.
BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK (Zamelodia melanocephala).
Length, about 8J inches.
Range: Breeds from the Pacific coast to Nebraska and the Dakotas, and from
southern Canada to southern Mexico; winters in Mexico.
Habits and economic status: The black-
headed grosbeak takes the place in the West
of the rosebreast in the East, and like it is
a fine songster. Like it also the blackhead
readily resorts to orchards and gardens and is
common in agricultural districts. The bird has
a very powerful bill and easily crushes or cuts
into the firmest fruit. It feeds upon cherries,
apricots, and other fruits, and also does some
damage to green peas and beans, but it is so
active a foe of certain horticultural pests that we
can afford to overlook its faults. Several kinds
of scale insects are freely eaten, and one, the
black olive scale, constitutes a fifth of the total
food. In May many cankerworms and codling
moths are consumed, and almost a sixth of the
bird's seasonal food consists of flower beetles,
which do incalculable damage to cultivated
flowers and to ripe fruit. For each quart of fruit
consumed by the black-headed grosbeak it de-
stroys in actual bulk more than H quarts of
black olive scales and 1 quart of flower beetles,
besides a generous "quantity of codling-moth
pupse and cankerworms. It is obvious that
such work as this pays many times over for
the fruit destroyed. (See Biol. Survey Bui. 32,
pp. 60-77.)
68o
ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK (Zamelodia
ludoviciana).
Length, 8 inches.
Range: Breeds from Kansas, Ohio, Georgia
(mountains), and New Jersey, north to southern
Canada; winters from Mexico to South America.
Habits and economic status: This beautiful
grosbeak is noted for its clear, melodious notes,
which are poured forth in generous measure.
The rosebreast sings even at midday during
summer, when the intense heat has silenced
almost every other songster. Its beautiful
plumage and sweet song are not its sole claim
on our favor, for few birds are more beneficial
to agriculture. The rosebreast eats some green
peas and does some damage to fruit. But this
mischief is much more than balanced by the
destruction of insect pests. The bird is so fond
of the Colorado potato beetle that it has earned
the name of "potato-bug bird," and no less
than a tenth of the total food of the rosebreasts
examined consists of potato beetles — evidence
that the bird is one of the most important enemies of the pest. It vigorously
attacks cucumber beetles and many of the scale insects. It proved an active
enemy of the Rocky Mountain locust during that insect's ruinous invasions, and
among the other pests it consumes are the spring and fall cankerworms, orchard
and forest tent caterpillars, tussock, gipsy, and brown-tail moths, plum curculio,
army worm, and chmch bug. In fact, not one of our birds has a better record.
(See Biol. Survey Bui. 32, pp. 33-59.)
SONG SPARROW (Melospiza melodia).
• Length, about 6J inches. The heavily spotted breast with heavy central
blotch is characteristic.
Range: Breeds in the United States (except the South Atlantic and Gulf
States), southern Canada, southern Alaska, and Mexico; winters in Alaska and
most of the United States southward.
Habits and economic status: Like the familiar little "chippy," the song
sparrow is one of our most domestic species, and builds its nest in hedges or in
garden shrubbery close to houses, whenever it is reasonably safe from the house
cat, which, however, takes heavy toll of the
nestlings. It is a true, harbinger of spring, and
its delightful little song is trilled forth from the
top of some green shrub in early March and
April, before most of our other songsters have
thought of leaving the sunny south. Song
sparrows vary much in habits, as well as in size
and coloration. Some forms live along streams
bordered by deserts, others in swamps among
bulrushes and tules, others in timbered regions,
others on rocky barren hillsides, and still others
in rich, fertile valleys. With such a variety of
habitat, the food of the species naturally varies
considerably. About three-fourths of its diet
consists of the seeds of noxious weeds and one-
fourth of insects. Of these, beetles, especially
weevils, constitute the major portion. Ants,
wasps, bugs (including the black olive scale),
and caterpillars are also eaten. Grasshoppers
are taken by the eastern birds, but not by
the western ones. (See Biol. Survey Bui. 15,
pp. 82-86.)
68 1
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CHIPPING SPARROW (Spizella passerina).
Length, about 5J> inches. Distinguished by
the chestnut crown, black line through eye, and
black bill.
Range: Breeds throughout the United States,
south to Nicaragua, and north to southern
Canada; winters in the southern United States
and southward.
Habits and economic status: The chipping
sparrow is very friendly and domestic, and often
builds its nest in gardens and orchards or in the
shrubbery close to dwellings. Its gentle and
confiding ways endear it to all bird lovers. It
is one of the moBt insectivorous of all the spar-
rows. Its diet consists of about 42 per cent
of insects and spiders and 58 per cent of vege-
table matter. The animal food consists largely
of caterpillars, of which it feeds a great many to
its young. Besides these, it eate beetles, includ-
ing many weevils, of which one stomach contained 30. It also eats ants, wasps,
and bugs. Among the latter are plant lice and black olive scales. The vege-
table food is practically all weed seed. A nest with 4 young of this species was
watched at different hours on 4 days. In the 7 hours of observation 119 feedings
were noted, or an average of 17 feedings per hour, or 4J feedings per hour to each
nestling. This would give for a day of 14 hours at least 238 insects eaten by the
brood. (See Biol. Survey Bui. 15, pp. 76-78.)
WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW (Zonotrichia leucophrys).
Length, 7 inches. The only similar sparrow, the white-throat, has a yellow
spot in front of eye.
Range: BreedB in Canada, the mountains of New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming,
and Montana, and thence to the Pacific coast; winters in the southern half of
the United States and in northern Mexico.
Habite and economic status: This beautiful sparrow is much more numerous
in the western than in the eastern States,
where, indeed, it ip rather rare. In the East it
is shy and retiring, but it is much bolder and
more conspicuous in the far West and there
often frequents gardens and parks. ' Like most
of its family it is a seed eater by preference, and
insects comprise very little more than 7 per cent
of its diet. Caterpillars are the largest item,
with some beetles, a few ants and wasps, and
some bugs, among which are black olive scales.
The great bulk of the food, however, consists of
weed seeds, which amount to 74 per cent of the
whole. In California this bird is accused of
eating the buds and blossoms of fruit trees, but
buds or blossoms were found in only 30 out of 516
stomachs, and probably it is only under excep-
tional circumstances that it does any damage in
this way. Evidently neither the farmer nor the
fruit grower has much to fear from the white-
crowned sparrow. The little fruit it eats is
mostly wild, and the grain eaten is waste or vol-
unteer. (See BioL Survey Bui. 34, pp. 75-77.)
682
ENGLISH SPARROW (Passer domesticus).
Length, about 6{ inches. Its incessant chat-
tering, quarrelsome disposition, and abundance
and familiarity about human habitations distin-
guish it from our native sparrows.
Range: Resident throughout the United
States and southern Canada.
Habits and economic status: Almost univer-
sally condemned since its introduction into the
United States, the English sparrow has not
only held its own, but has ever increased in
numbers and extended its range in spite of all
opposition. Its habit of driving out or even
killing more beneficial species and the defiling
of buildings by its droppings and by its own
unsightly structures, are serious objections to
this sparrow. Moreover, in rural districts, it is
destructive to grain, fruit, peas, beans, and other vegetables. On the other hand,
the bird feeds to some extent on a large number of insect peBts, and this fact
points to the need of a new investigation of the present economic status of the
species, especially as it promises to be of service in holding in check the newly
introduced alfalfa weevil, which threatens the alfalfa industry in Utah and
neighboring States. In cities most of the food of the English sparrow is waste
material secured from the streets.
CROW BLACKBIRD (Quiscalus" quiscula).
Length, 12 inches. Shorter by at least 3 inches than the other grackles with
trough-shaped tails. Black, with purplish, bluish, iand bronze reflections.
Range: Breeds throughout the United States
west to Texas, Colorado, and Montana, and in
southern Canada; winters in the southern half
of the breeding range.
Habits and economic status: This blackbird
is a beautiful species, and is well known from
its habit of congregating in city parks and nest-
ing there year after year. Like other species
which habitually assemble in great flocks, it is
capable of inflicting much damage on any crop
it attacks, and where it is harmful a judicious
reduction of numbers is probably sound policy.
It shares with the crow and blue jay the evil
habit of pillaging the nests of small birds of
eggs and young, Nevertheless it does much
good by destroying insect pests, especially
white grubs, weevils, grasshoppers, and cater-
pillars. Among the caterpillars are army worms
and other cutworms. When blackbirds gather
in large flocks, as in the Mississippi Valley,
they may greatly damage grain, either when
first sown or when in the milk. In winter
they subsist mostly on weed seed and waste
grain. (See Biol. Surv. Bui. 13, pp. 53-70.)
683
BREWER'S BLACKBIRD (Euphagus
cyanocephalus).
Length, 10 inches. Its glossy purplish head
distinguishes it from other blackbirds that do
not show in flight a trough-shaped tail.
Range: Breeds in the West, east to Texas,
Kansas, and Minnesota, and north to southern
Canada; winters over most of the United
States breeding range, south to Guatemala.
Habits and economic status: Very numerous
in lie West and in fall gathers in immense
flocks, especially about barnyards and corrals.
During the cherry season in California Brewer's
blackbird is much in the orchards. In one case
they were seen to Bat freely of cherries, but
when a neighboring fruit raiser began to plow
his orchard almost every blackbird in the vi-
cinity was upon the newly opened ground and
close at the plowman's heels in its eagerness
to get the insects exposed by the plow. Cater-
pillars and pupae form the largest item of animal food.(about 12 per cent) . Many
of these are cutworms, and cotton bollworms or corn earworms were found in 10
stomachs and codling-moth pupae in 11. Beetles constitute over 11 per cent of
the food. The vegetable food is practically contained in three items — grain,
fruit, and weed seeds-. Grain, mostly oats, amounts to 54 per cent; fruit, largely
cherries, 4 per cent; and weed seeds, not quite 9 per, cent. The grain is prob-
ably mostly wild, volunteer, or waste, so that the bird does most damage by
eating fruit. (See Biol. Surv. Bui. 34, pp. 59-65.)
BULLOCK'S ORIOLE (Icterus bullocki).
Length, about 8 inches. Our only oriole with top of head and throat black
and cheeks orange.
Range: Breeds from South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas to the Pacific
Ocean and from southern Canada to northern Mexico; winters in Mexico.
Habits and economic status: In the West this bird takes the place occupied
in the East by the Baltimore oriole. In food, nesting habits, and song the birds
are similar. Both are migratory and remain on their summer range only some
five or six months. They take kindly to orchards, gardens, and the vicinity of
farm buildings and often live in villages and city
parks. Their diet is largely made upof insects
that infest orchards and gardens. When fruit
trees are in bloom they are constantly busy
among the blossoms and save many of them from
destruction. In the food of Bullock's oriole
- beetles amount to 35 per cent and nearly all
are harmful. Many of these are weevils, some
of which live upon acorns and other nuts.
Ants and wasps amount to 15 per cent of the
diet. The black olive scale was found in 45
of the 162 stomachs examined. Caterpillars,
>with a few moths and pupic, are the largest
B^ item of food and amount to over 41 per cent.
Among these were codling-moth larvae. The
vegetable food is practically all fruit (19 per
cent) and in cherry season consists largely of
that fruit. Eating small fruits is the bird's
worst trait, but it =will do harm in this way
only when very numerous. (See Biol. Surv.
Bui. 34, pp. 68-71.)
684
MEADOWLARKS (Sturnella magna and
Sturnella neglecta).
Length, about lOf inches.
Range: Breed generally in the United States,
southern Canada, and Mexico to Costa Rica;
winter from the Ohio and Potomac Valleys and
British Columbia southward.
Habits and economic status : Our two meadow-
larks, though differing much in song, resemble
each other closely in plumage and habits.
Grassy plains and uplands covered with a thick
growth of grass or weeds, with near-by water,
furnish the conditions best suited to the meadow-
lark's taste. The song of the western bird is
loud, clear, and melodious. That of its eastern
relative is feebler and loses much by compari-
son. In many localities the meadowlark is
classed and shot as a game bird. From the
farmer's standpoint this is a mistake, since its
value as an insect eater is far greater than as an
object of pursuit by the sportsman. Both the
boll weevil, the foe of the cotton grower, and
the alfalfa weevil are among the beetles it habitually eats. Twenty-five per
cent of the diet of this bird is beetles, half of which are predaceous ground
beetles, accounted useful insects, and one-fifth are destructive weevils. Cater-
pillars form 11 per cent of the food and are eaten in every month in the year.
Among these are many cutworms and the well-known army worm. Grasshoppers
are favorite food and are eaten in every month and almost every day. The vege-
table food (24 per cent of the whole) consists of grain and weed seeds. (See
Yearbook U. S. Dept. Agr. 1895, pp. 420-426.)
RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD (Agelaius phoeniceus).
Length, about 9J inches.
Range: Breeds in Mexico and North America south of the Barren Grounds;
winters in southern half of United States and south to Costa Rica.
Habits and economic status: The prairies of the upper Mississippi Valley, with
their numerous sloughs and ponds, furnish ideal nesting places for redwings, and con-
sequently this regionhas become the greatbreed-
ing ground for the species. These prairies pour
forth the vast flocks that.play havoc with grain-
fields. East of the Appalachian Range, marshes
on the shores of lakes, rivers, and estuaries are
the only available breeding sites and, as these
are comparatively few and small, the species is
much less abundant than in the West. Red-
wings are eminently gregarious, living in flocks
and breeding in communities. The food of the
redwing consists of 27 per cent animal matter
and 73 per cent vegetable. Insects constitute
practically one-fourth of the food. Beetles
(largely weevils, a most harmful group) amount
to 10 per cent. Grasshoppers are eaten in every
month and amount to about 5 per cent. Cater-
pillars (among them the injurious army worm)
are eaten at all seasons and aggregate 6 per cent.
Ants, wasps, bugs, flies, dragonfhes, and spiders
also are eaten. The vegetable food consists of
seeds, including grain, of which oats is the fa-
vorite, and some small fruits. When in large
flocks this bird is capable of doing great harm to
grain. (See Biol. Survey Bui. 13, pp. 33-34.)
68 5
BOBOLINK (Dolichonyx oryzivonts).
Length, about 7 inches,
Eange: Breeds from Ohio northeast to Nova
Scotia, north to Manitoba, and northwest to Brit-
ish Columbia; winters in South America.
Habits and economic status: When Ameri-
can writers awoke to the beauty and attractive-
ness of our native "birds, among the first to be
enshrined in song and story was the bobolink.
Few species showtsuch striking contrasts in the
color of the sexes, and few have songs more
unique and whimsical. In its northern home
the bird is loved for its beauty and its rich mel-
ody; in the South it earns deserved hatred by
its destructiveness . Bobolinks reach the south-
eastern coast of the United States the last half
of April just as rice is sprouting and at once
begin to pull up and devour the sprouting ker-
nels. Soon they move on to their northern
breeding grounds, where they feed upon insects,
weed seeds, and a-little grain . When the young
are well on the wing, they gather in flocks with
the parent birds and gradually move southward, being then generally known as
reed birds. They reach the rice fieldB of the Carolmas about August 20, when
the rice is in the milk. Then until the birds depart for South America planters
and birds fight for the crop, and in spite of constant watchfulness and innumer-
able devices for scaring the birds a loss of 10 per cent of the rice is the usual
result. (See Biol. Survey Bui. 13, pp. 12-22.)
COMMON CROW (Corvus brachyrhynchos).
Length, 19 inches.
Range: Breeds throughout the United States and most of Canada; winters gen-
erally in the United States.
Habits and economic status: The general habits of the crow are universally
known. Its ability to commit such misdeeds as pulling corn and stealing eggs
and fruit and to get away unscathed is little
short of marvelous, ijuch of the crow's success
in life is due to cooperation, and the social in-
stinct of the species has its highest expression
in the winter roosts, which are sometimes fre-
quented by hundreds of thousands of crows.
Prom these roosts daily flights of many miles are
made in search of f6od. Injury to sprouting
corn is the most frequent complaint against this
species, but by coating the seed grain with Goal
tar most of this "damage may be prevented.
Losses of poultry and eggs may be averted by
proper housing arid the judicious use of wire
netting. The insect food of the crow includes
wireworms, cutworms, white grubs, and grass-
hoppers, and during outbreaks of these insects
the crow renders good service. The bird is also
an efficient scavenger. But chiefly because of
its destruction of beneficial wild birds and their
eggs the crow must be classed as a criminal,
and a reduction in its numbers in localities
where it is seriously destructive is justifiable.
(See Farmers' Bui. 54, pp. 22-23.)
686
CALIFORNIA JAY (Aphelocoma californica).
Length, 12 inches. Distinguished from other
jays within its range by its decidedly whitish
underparta and brown patch on the back.
Range : Resident in California, north to south-
em Washington, and south to southern Lower
California.
Habits and economic status: This jay has the
same general traits of character as the eastern
blue jay. He is the same noisy, rollicking fel-
low and occupies a corresponding position in
bird society. Robbing the nests of smaller
birds is a favorite pastime, and he is a persist-
ent spy upon domestic fowls and well knows
the meaning of the cackle of a hen. Not only
does he steal eggs but he kills young chicks.
The insect food of this jay constitutes about
one-tenth of its annual sustenance. The inclu-
sion of grasshoppers and caterpillars makes this
part of the bird's food in its favor. But the re-
mainder of its animal diet includes altogether
too large a proportion of beneficial birds and
their eggs, and in this respect it appears to be worse than its eastern relative,
the blue jay. While its vegetable food is composed largely of mast, at times its
liking for cultivated fruit and grain makes it a most unwelcome visitor to the
orchard and farm. In conclusion it may be said that over much of its range this
jay is too abundant for the best interests of agriculture and horticulture. (See
Biol. Survey Bui. 34, pp. 50-56.)
BLDE JAY (Cyanocitta cristata).
Length, 11J inches. The brilliant blue of the wings and tail combined with the
black crescent of the upper breast and the crested head distinguish this species.
Range: Resident in the eastern United States and southern Canada, west to
the Dakotas, Colorado^ and Texas.
Habits and economic status: The blue jay is
of a dual nature. Cautious and silent in the
vicinity of its nest, away from it it is bold and
noisy. Sly in the commission of mischief, it is
ever ready to scream "thief" at the slightest
disturbance. As usual in such cases, its re-
marks are applicable to none more than itself,
a fact neighboring nest holders know to their
sorrow, for during the breeding season the jay
lays heavy toll upon the eggs and young of other
birds, and in doing so deprives us of the serv-
ices of species more beneficial than itself. Ap-
proximately three-fourths of the annual food of
the blue jay is vegetable matter, the greater
part of which is composed of mast, i. e., acorns,
chestnuts, beechnuts, and the like. Com is the
principal cultivated crop upon which this bird
feeds, but stomach analysis indicates that most
of the com taken is waste grain. Such noxious
insects as wood-boring beetles, grasshoppers,
eggs of various caterpillars, and scale insects
constitute about one-fifth of its food. (See
Farmers' Bui. 54, pp. 18-19.)
687
HORNED LARK (Otocoris alpestris).
Length, about 7*f inches. The black mark
across the breast and the small, pointed tufts of
dark feathers above and behind the eyes dis-
tinguish the bird.
Range: Breeds throughout the United States
(except the South Atlantic and Gulf States) and
Canada; winters in all the United States except
Florida.
Habits and economic status: Horned larks
frequent the open country, especially the plains
and deserts. They associate in large flocks, are
hardy, apparently delighting in exposed situa-
tions in winter, and often nest before snow dis-
appears. The flight is irregular and hesitating,
but in the breeding season the males ascend
high in air, singing as they go, and pitch to the
ground in one thrilling dive. The preference
of horned larks is for vegetable food, and about
one-sixth of this is grain, chiefly waste. Some
sprouting grain is pulled, but drilled grain ia safe
from injury. California horned larks take much
more grain than the eastern birds, specializing
on oats, but this is accounted for by the fact that oats grow wild over much of
the State. Weed seeds are the largest single element of food. The insect food,
about 20 per cent of the whole, includes such pests as May beetles and their larvae
(white grubs), leaf beetles, clover-leaf and clover-root weevils, the potato-stalk
borer, nut weevils, billbugs, and the chinch bug. Grasshoppers are a favorite
food, and cutworms are freely eaten. The horned larks, on the whole, may be
considered useful birds. (See Biol. Survey Bui. 23.)
ARKANSAS KINGBIRD (Tyrannus verticalis).
Length, 9 inches. The white edge of the feather on each side of the tail dis-
tinguishes this from all other flycatchers except the gray and salmon-colored
scissortail of Texas.
Range: Breeds from Minnesota, Kansas, and Texas to the Pacific Ocean and
from northern Mexico to southern Canada; winters from Mexico to Guatemala.
Habits and economic status: The Arkansas
kingbird is not so domestic as its eastern relative
and seems to prefer the hill country with scat-
tered oaks rather than the orchard or the vicinity
of ranch buildings, but it sometimes places its
rude and conspicuous nest in trees on village
streets. The bird's yearly food is composed of
87 per cent animal niatter and 13 per cent vege-
table. The animal food is composed almost
entirely of insects. Like the eastern species, it
has been accused of ^destroying honeybees to a
harmful extent, and remains of honeybees were
found to constitute 5 per cent of the food of the
individuals examined, but nearly all those
eaten wore drones. Bees and wasps, in general,
are the biggest item of food (38 per cent), grass-
hoppers and crickets stand next (20 per cent),
and beetles, mostly of noxious species, con-
stitute 14 per cent 6f the food. The vegetable
food consists mostly of fruit, such as the elder
and other berries, with a few seeds. This bird
should be strictly preserved. (See Biol. Survey
Bui. 34, pp. 32-34, ^md Bui. 44, pp. 19-22.)
688
KINGBIRD (Tyrannus tyrannus).
Length, about 8£ inches. The white lower
surface and white-tipped tail distinguish this
flycatcher.
Range: Breeds throughout the United States
(except the southwestern part) and southern
Canada; winters from Mexico to South America.
Habits and economic status: The kingbird
is a pronounced enemy of hawks and crows,
which it vigorously attacks at every opportu-
nity, thereby affording efficient protection to
near-by poultry yards and young chickens at
large. It loves the open country and is espe-
cially fond of orchards and trees about farm
buildings. No less than 85 per cent of its food
consists of insects, mostly of a harmful nature.
It eats the common rose chafer or rose bug, and
more remarkable still it devours blister beetles
freely. The bird has been accused of eating
honeybees to an injurious extent, but there is
little ground for the accusation, as appears from
the fact that examination of 634 stomachs
showed only 61 bees in 22 stomachs. Of these
51 were useless drones. On the other hand, it
devours robber flies, which catch and destroy honeybees. Grasshoppers and
crickets, with a few bugs and some cutworms, and a few other insects, make up
the rest of the animal food. The vegetable food consists of fruit and a few seeds.
The kingbird deserves full protection. (See Biol. Surv. Bui. 44, pp. 11-19.)
NIGHTHAWK (Chordeiles virginianus).
Length, 10 inches. Not to be confused with the whippoorwill. The latter
lives in woodland and is chiefly nocturnal. The nighthawk often flies by day,
when the white bar across the wing and its nasal cry are distinguishing.
Range: Breeds throughout most of the United States and Canada; winters in
South America.
Habits and economic status: The skillful evolutions of a company of night-
hawks as the birds gracefully cleave the air in intersecting circles is a sight to be
remembered. So expert are they on the wing that nojnsect is safe from them, even
the swift dragonfly being captured with ease.
Unfortunately their erratic flight tempts men
to use them for targets, and this inexcusable
practice is seriously diminishing their numbers,
which is deplorable, since no birds are more
useful. This species makes no nest, but lays its
two spotted eggs on the bare ground, sometimes
on the gravel roof of the city house. The night-
hawk is a voracious feeder and is almost exclu-
sively insectivorous. Some stomachs contained
from 30 to 50 different kinds of insects, and
more than 600 kinds have been identified from
the stomachs thus far examined. From 500 to
1 ,000 ants are often found in a stomach . Several
species of mosquitoes, including Anopheles, the
transmitter of malaria, are eaten. Other well-
known pests destroyed by the nighthawk are
the Colorado potato beetle, cucumber beetles,
chestnut, rice, clover-leaf and cotton-boll wee-
vils, billbugs, bark beetles, squash bugs, and
moths of the cotton worm.
689
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FLICKER (Colaptes auratus).
Length, 13 inches. The yellow under surface
of the wing, yellow tail shafts, and white rump
are characteristic.
Range: Breeds in the eastern United States
west to the plains and in the forested parte of
Canada and Alaska; winters in most of the
eastern United States.
Habits and economic status: The flicker in-
habits the open country rather than the forest
and delights in park-like regions where trees
are numerous and scattered. It nests in any
large cavity in a trfee and readily appropriates
an artificial box. It is possible, therefore, to
insure the presence of this useful bird about
the farm and to increase its numbers. It is the
most terrestrial of our woodpeckers and pro-
cures much of its food from the ground. The
largest item of animal food is ants, of which
the flicker eats more than any other common
bird. Ants were found in 524 of the 684 stom-
achs examined and 98 stomachs contained no
other food. One stomach contained over 5,000
and two others held over 3,000 each. While bugs are not largely eaten by the
flicker, one stomach contained 17 chinch bugs. Wild 5 fruits are next to ants in
importance in the flicker's dietary. Of these sour gum and wild black cherry
stand at the head. The food habits of this bird are such as to recommend it to
complete protection. (See Biol. Survey Bui. 37, pp„.52-58.)
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER (Sphyrapicus varius).
Length, about 8J inches. Only woodpecker having top of head from base of
bill red, combined with a black patch on breast.
Range: Breeds in northern half of the United States and southern half of
Canada; winters in most of the States and south to Costa Rica.
Habits and economic status: The yellow-bellied sapsucker is rather silent
and suspicious and generally manages to have a tree between himself and the
observer. Hence >the bird is much better
known by its works than its appearance. The
regular girdles of holes made by this bird are
common on a great variety of trees; in all about
250 kinds are known to be attacked. Occa-
sionally young trees are killed outright, but
more loss is caused by stains and other blem-
ishes in the wood which result from sapsucker
punctures . These blemishes, which are known
as bird pecks, are especially numerous in hick-
ory, oak, cypress, and yellow poplar. Defects
due to sapsucker work cause an annual loss to
the lumber industry estimated at $1,250,000.
The food of the yellow-bellied sapsucker is
about half animal and half vegetable. ItBiond-
ness for ants counts slightly in its favor. It eats
also wasps, beetles (including, however, very
few wood-boring species), bugs, and spiders.
The two principal components of the vegetable
food are wild fruits of no importance and cam-
bium (the layer just beneath the bark of trees).
In securing the cambium the bird does the
damage above described. The yellow-bellied
sapsucker, unlike other woodpeckers, thus
does comparatively little good and much
harm. (See Biol, gurvey Bui. 39.)
690
DOWNY WOODPECKER (Dryobates
pubescens).
Length, 6 inches. Our smallest woodpecker;
spotted with black and white. Dark bars on
the outer tail feathers distinguish it from the
similarly colored but larger hairy woodpecker.
Range: Resident in the United States and
the forested parts of Canada and Alaska.
Habits and economic status: This wood-
pecker is commonly distributed, living in
woodland tracts, orchards, and gardens. The
bird has several characteristic notes, and, like
the hairy woodpecker, is fond of beating on a
dry resonant tree branch a tattoo which to
appreciative ears has the quality of woodland
music. In a hole excavated in a dead branch
the downy woodpecker lays four to six eggs.
This and the hairy woodpecker are among our
most valuable allies, their food consisting of
some of the worst foes of orchard and wood-
land, which the woodpeckers are especially
equipped to dig out of dead and living wood.
In the examination of 723 stomachs of this bird,
animal food, mostly insects, was found to constitute 76 per cent of the diet and
vegetable matter 24 per cent. The animal food consists largely of beetles that
bore into timber or burrow under the bark. Caterpillars amount to 16 per cent
of the food and include many especially harmful species. Grasshopper eggs
are freely eaten. The vegetable food of the downy woodpecker consists of
small fruit and seeds, mostly of wild species. It distributes seeds of poison
ivy, or poison oak, which is about the only fault of this very useful bird. (See
Biol. Survey Bui. 37, pp. 17-22.)
YELLOW-BELLED CUCKOO (Coccyzus americanus).
Length, about 12 inches. The yellow lower part of the bill distinguishes this
bird from its near relative, the black-billed cuckoo. ,
Range: Breeds generally in the United States and southern Canada; winters
in South America.
Habits and economic status: This bird lives
on the edges of woodland, in groves, orchards,
parks, and even in shaded village streets. It
is sometimes known as rain crow, because its
very characteristic notes are supposed to fore-
tell rain. The cuckoo has sly, furtive ways as
it moves among the bushes or flits from tree to
tree, and is much more often seen than heard.
Unlike its European relative, it does not lay its
eggs in other birds' nests, but builds a nest of
its own. This is, however, a rather crude and
shabby affair — hardly more than a platform of
twigs sufficient to hold the greenish eggs. The
cuckoo is extremely useful because of its
insectivorous habits, especially as it shows a
marked preference for the hairy caterpillars,
which few birds eat. One stomach that was
examined contained 250 American tent cater-
pillars; another, 217 fall webworms. In places
where tent caterpillars are abundant they seem
to constitute a large portion of the food of this
and the black-billed cuckoo.
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691
SCREECH OWL (Otus asio).
Length, about 8 incheH.
Our smallest owl with ear
tufta. There are two distinct
phases of plumage, one grayish
and the other bright rufous.
Range: Resident through-
out, the United States, south-
ern Canada, and northern
Mexico.
Habits and economic status:
The little screech owl inhabits
orchards, groves, and thickets,
and hunts for its prey in such
places as well as along hedge-
rows and in the open. During warm spells in winter it forages quite extensively
and stores up in some hollow tree considerable quantities of food for use during
inclement weather. Such larders frequently contain enough mice or other prey
to bridge over a period of a week or more. With the exception of the burrowing
owl it is probably the most insectivorous of the nocturnal birds of prey. It feeds
also upon small mammals, birds, reptiles, batrachians, fish, spiders, crawfish,
scorpions, and earthworms. Grasshoppers, crickets, ground-dwelling beetles,
and caterpillars are its favorites among insects, as are field mice among mammals
and sparrows among birds. Out of 324 stomachs examined, 169 were found to
contain insects; 142, small mammals; 56, birds; and 15, crawfish. The screech
owl should be encouraged to stay near barns and outhouses, as it will keep in
check house mice and wood mice, which frequent such places. (See Biol.
Survey Bui. 3, pp. 163-173.)
BARN OWL (Aluco pratincola).
Length, about 17 inches. Facial disk not circular as in our other owls;
plumage above, pale yellow; beneath, varying from silky white to pale bright
tawny.
Range: Resident in Mexico, in the southern United^States, and north to New
York, Ohio, Nebraska, and California.
Habits and economic status: The barn owl, often called monkey-faced owl, is
one of the most beneficial of the birds of prey, since it feeds almost exclusively
on small mammals that injure farm produce, nursery, and orchard stock. It
hunts principally in the open and consequently secures such mammals as pocket
gophers, field mice, common rats, house mice, harvest mice, kangaro*o rats, and
cotton rats. It occasionally captures a few birds and insects. At least a half
bushel of the remains of pocket gophers have been found in the nesting cavity of
a pair of these birds. Remembering that a gopher has been known in a short
time to girdle seven apricot trees worth $100 it is hard to overestimate the
value of the service of a pair
of bam owls. 1,247 pellets of
the barn owl collected from the
Smithsonian towers contained
3,100 skulls, of which 3,004, or
97 per cent, were of mammals;
92, or 3 per cent, of birds; and
4 were of frogs. The bulk con-
sisted of 1,987 field mice, 656
house mice, and 210 common
rats. The birds eaten were
mainly sparrows and blackbirds.
This -valuable owl should be
rigidly protected throughout its
entire range. (See Biol. Survey
Bui. 3, pp. 132-139.)
6Q2
SPARROW HAWK (Falco spar-
verius).
Length, about 10 inches. This
ia one of the best known and
handsomest, as well as the small-
est, of North American hawks.
Range; Breeds throughout the
United States, Canada, and north-
ern Mexico; wintersin the United
States and south to Guatemala.
Habits and economic status:
The sparrow hawk, which is a
true falcon, lives in the more
open country and builds its nest
in hollow trees. It is abundant
in many parts of the West, where
telegraph poles afford it convenient perching and feeding places. Its food con-
sists of insects, small mammals, birds, spiders, and reptiles. Grasshoppers, crick-
ets, and terrestrial beetles and caterpillars make up considerably more than half
its subsistence, while field mice, house mice, and shrews cover fully 25 per cent
of its annual supply. The balance of the food includes birds, reptiles, and
spiders. Contrary to the usual habits of the species, some individuals during
the breeding season capture nestling birds for food for their young and create
considerable havoc among the songsters of the neighborhood. In agricultural
districts when new ground is broken by the plow, they sometimes become very
tame, even alighting for an instant under the horses in their endeavor to seize a
worm or insect. Out of 410 stomachs examinedj "314 were found to contain
insects; 129, small mammals; and 70, small birds. This little falcon renders
good service in destroying noxious insects and rodents and should be encour-
aged and protected. (See Biol. Survey Bui. 3, pp. 115-127.)
RED-TAILED HAWK (Buteo borealis).
Length, about 2 feet. One of our largest hawks; adults with tail reddish brown.
Range: Breeds in the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, Canada, and Alaska;
winters generally in the United States and south to Guatemala.
Habits and economic status: The red-tailed hawk, or "hen-hawk," as it is
commonly called, is one of the best known of aH our birds of prey, and is a
widely distributed species of great economic importance. Its habit of sitting on
some prominent limb or pole in the open, or flying with measured wing beat over
prairies and sparsely wooded areas on the lookout for its favorite prey, causes it
to be noticed by the most indifferent observer. Although not as omnivorous as the
red-shouldered hawk, it feeds on a variety of food, as small mammals, snakes,
frogs, insects, birds, crawfish, centipedes, and even carrion. In regions where
rattlesnakes abound it destroys considerable numbers of the reptiles. Although
it feeds to a certain extent on poultry and birds, it is nevertheless entitled
to general protection on ac-
count of the insistent warfare it
wages against field mice and
other small rodents and in-
sects that are so destruc-
tive to young orchards, nur-
sery stock, and farm prod-
uce. Out of 530 stomachs
examined, 457, or 85 per cent,
contained the remains of mam-
mal pests such as field mice,
pine mice, rabbits, several
species of ground squirrels,
pocket gophers, and cotton
rats, and only 62 contained
the remains of poultry or game
birds. (See Biol. Survey Bui.
3, pp. 48-62.)
693
COOPER'S HAWK (Accipiter
cooperi).
Length, about 15 inches. Me-
dium sized, with long tail and
short wings, and without the
white patch on rump which is
characteristic of the marsh hawk.
Range: Breeds throughout
most of the United States and
southern Canada; winters from
the United States to Costa Rica.
Habits and economic status:
The Cooper's hawk, or " blue
darter, " as it is familiarly known
throughout the South, is pre-
eminently a poultry and bird-eating species, and its destructiveness in this
direction is surpassed only by that of its larger congener, the goshawk, which
occasionally in autumn and winter enters the United States from the North in
great numbers. The almost universal prejudice against birds of prey is largely
due to the activities of these two birds, assisted byia third, the sharp-shinned
hawk, which in habits and appearance might well pass for a small Cooper's
hawk. These birds usually approach undercover ana drop upon unsuspecting
victims, making great inroads upon poultry yards and game coverts favorably
situated for this style of hunting. Out of 123 stomachs examined, 38 contained
the remains of poultry and game birds, 66 the remains of other birds, and 12
the remains of mammals. Twenty-eight species of wild birds were identified
in the above-mentioned material. This destructive hawk, together with its
two near relatives, should be destroyed by every possible means. (See Biol.
Survey Bui. 3, pp. 38-43.)
MOURNING DOVE (Zenaidura macroura).
Length, 12 inches. The dark spot on the side of the neck distinguishes this
bird from all other native doves and pigeons except the white-winged dove.
The latter has the upper third of wing white.
Range: Breeds throughout the United States and in Mexico, Guatemala, and
southern Canada; winters from the central United States to Panama.
Habits and economic status: The food of the mourning dove is practically all
vegetable matter (over 99 per cent), principally seeds of plants, including grain.
Wheat, oats, rye, com, barley, ana buckwheat were found in 150 out of 237
stomachs, and constituted 32 per cent of the food. Three-fourths of this was
waste grain picked up after harvest. The principal and almost constant diet is
weed seeds, which are eaten throughout the year and constitute 64 per cent of
the entire food. In one stomach
were found 7,500 seeds of yellow
wood sorrel, in another 6,400
seeds of barn grass or foxtail, and
in a third 2,600 seeds of slender
paspalum, 4,820 of orange hawk-
weed, 950 of hoary vervain, 120 of
Carolina cranesbill, 50 of yellow
wood sorrel, 620 of panic grass,
and 40» of various other weeds.
None of these are useful, andmost
of them are troublesome weeds.
The dove does not eat insects
or other animal food. It should
be protected in every possible
way. (See Farmers' Bui. 54, pp.
6-7.)
694
RUFFED GROUSE (Bonasa
umbellus).
Length, 17 inches. The broad
black band near tip of tail dis-
tinguishes this from other grouse.
Range: Resident in the north-
ern two-thirds of the United
States and in the forested parts
of Canada.
Habits and economic status:
The ruffed grouse, the famed
drummer and finest game bird of
the northern woods, is usually
wild and wary and under reason-
able protection well withstands
the attacks of hunters. Moreover, when reduced in numbers, it responds to
protection in a gratifying manner and has proved to be well adapted to propa-
gation under artificial conditions. Wild fruits, mast, and browse make up the
bulk of the vegetable food of this species. It is very fond of hazelnuts, beech-
nuts, chestnuts, and acorns, and it eats practically all kinds of wild berries and
other fruits. Nearly 60 kinds of fruits have been identified from the stomach
contents examined. Various weed seeds also are consumed. Slightly more
than 10 per cent of the food consists of insects, about half being beetles. The
most important pests devoured are the potato beetle, clover-root weevil, the
pale-striped flea beetle, grapevine leaf-beetle, May beetles, grasshoppers, cotton
worms, army worms, cutworms, the red-humped apple worm, and sawfly larvce.
While the economic record of the ruSed grouse is fairly commendable, it does
not call for more stringent protection than is necessary to maintain the species
in reasonable numbers. (See Biol. Survey Bui. 24,;, pp. 26-38.)
BOBWHITE (Colinus virginianus).
Length, 10 inches. Known everywhere by the "clear whistle that suggests its
name.
Range: Resident in the United States east of the plains; introduced in many
places in the West.
Habits and economic status: The bobwhite is loved by every dweller in the
country and is better known to more hunters in the United States than any
other game bird. It is no less appreciated on the table than in the field, ana
in many States has unquestionably been hunted too closely. Fortunately it
seems to be practicable to propagate the bird in 'captivity, and much is to be
hoped for in this direction. Half the food of this quail consists of weed seeds,
almost a fourth of grain, and about a tenth of wild fruits. Although thus eating
grain, the bird gets most of it from stubble. Fifteen per cent of the bobwhite's
food is composed of insects, including several of the most serious pests of agri-
culture. It feeds freely upon
Colorado potato beetles and
chinch bugs; it devours also
cucumber beetles, wireworms,
billbugs, clover-leaf weevils,
cotton-boll weevils, army
worms, bollworms, cutworms,
and Rocky Mountain locusts.
Take it all in all, bobwhite is
very useful to the farmer, and
while it may not be necessary
to remove it from the list of
game birds every farmer should
see that his own farm is not
depleted by eager sportsmen.
(See Biol. Survey Bui. 21,
pp. 9-46.)
695
KILLDEER (Ozyechus
vociferus).
. Length, 10 inches. Distin-
guished by its piercing and oft-
repeated cry — hildee.
Range: Breeds throughout
the United States and most
of Canada; winters from cen-
tral United States to South
America.
Habits and economic status:
The Mlldeer is one of the best
known of the shorebird family.
It often visits the farmyard
and- commonly nests in pas-
It is rather suspicious, however and on being approached
takes flight with loud cries. It is noisy and restless, but fortunately most of its
activities result in benefit to man. The food is of the same general nature as that
of the upland plover, but is more varied. The killdeef .feeds upon beetles, grass-
hoppers, caterpillars, ants, bugs, caddis flies, dragonsflies, centipedes, spiders,
ticks, oyster worms, earthworms, snails, crabs, and other Crustacea. Among the
beetles consumed are such pests as the alfalfa weevil,. cotton-boll weevil, clover-
root weevil, clover-leaf weevil, pine weevil, billbugs, white grubs, wireworms,
and leaf beetles. The bird also devours cotton worms, cotton cutworms, horse-
flies, mosquitoes, cattle ticks, and crawfish. One stomach contained hundreds
of larvse of the saltmarsh mosquito, one of the most troublesome species. The
killdeer preys extensively upon insects that are annoying to man and injurious
to his stock and crops, and this should be enough to remove it from the list of
game birds and insure its protection. (See Farmers' Bui. 497, pp. 16-18.)
tures or cornfields.
UPLAND PLOVER (Bartramia longicauda).
Length, 12 inches. The only plainly colored shorebird which occurs east of
the plains and inhabits exclusively dry fields and hillsides.
Range: Breeds from Oregon, Utah, Oklahoma, Indiana, and Virginia, north
to Alaska; winters in South America.
Habits and economic status: This, the most terrestrial of our waders, is shy
and wary, but it has the one weakness of not fearing men on horseback or in a
vehicle. One of these methods of approach, therefore, is nearly always used by
the sportsman, and, since the bird is highly prized as a table delicacy, it has
been hunted to the verge of extermination. As the upland plover is strictly ben-
eficial, it should no longer be classed as a game bird and allowed to be shot.
Ninety-seven per cent of the food of this species consists of animal forms, chiefly of
injurious and neutral species. The vegetable food is mainly weed seeds. Almost
half of the total subsistence is
made up of grasshoppers, crick-
ets, and weevils. Among the
weevils eaten are the cotton-
boll weevil, greater and lesser
clover-leaf weevils, cowpea
weevils, and billbugs. This
bird devours also leaf beetles,
wireworms, white grubs, army
worms, cotton worms, cotton
cutworms, sawfly larva;, horse-
flies, and cattle ticks. In
brief, it injures no crop, but
consumes a host of the
worst enemies of agriculture.
(See Farmers' Bui. 497, pp.
14-16.)
696
BLACK TERN (Hydrocheli-
don nigra surinamensis).
Length, 10 inches. In au-
tumn occurs as a migrant on
the east coast of the United
States, and then is in white
and gray plumage. During
the breeding season it is con-
fined to the interior, is chiefly
black, and is the only dark
tern occurring inland.
Range: Breeds from Cali-
fornia, Colorado, Missouri, and
Ohio, north to central Canada;
winters from Mexico to South
America; migrant in the east-
ern United States.
Habits and economic statue: This tern, unlike most of its relatives, passes much
of its life on fresh-water lakes and marshes of the interior. Its nests are placed
among the tules and weeds, on floating vegetation, or on muskrat houses. It lays
from 2 to 4 eggs. Its food is more varied than that of any other tern. So far as
known it preys upon no food fishes, but feeds extensively upon such enemies of fish
as dragonfly nymphs, fish-eating beetles, and crawfishes. Unlike most of its fam-
ily, it devours a great variety of insects, many of which it catches as it flies. Dragon-
flies, Mayflies, grasshoppers, predaceous diving beetles, scarabaeid beetles, leaf bee-
tles, gnats, and other flies are the principal kinds preyed upon. Fishes of little eco-
nomic value, chiefly minnows and mummichogs, were found to compose only a lit-
tle more than 19 per cent of the contents of 145 stomachs. The great consumption of
insects by the black tern places it among the beneficial species worthy of protection.
FRANKLIN'S GULL (Larus franklini).
Length, 15 inches. During its residence in the United States Franklin's gull
is practically confined to the interior and is the only inland gull with black
head and red bill.
Range: Breeds in the Dakotas, Iowa, Minnesota, and the neighboring parts of
southern Canada; winters from the Gulf Coast to South America.
Habits and economic status: Nearly all of our gulls are coast-loving species
and spend comparatively little of their time in fresh water, but Franklin's is a
true inland gull. Extensive marshes bordering shallow lakes are its chosen
breeding grounds, and as many such areas are being reclaimed for agricultural
purposes it behooves the tillers of the soil to protect this valuable species. When
undisturbed this gull becomes quite fearless and follows the plowman to gather
the grubs and worms from the newly turned furrows. It lives almost exclusively
upon insects, of which it consumes great quantities. Its hearty appetite is
manifest from the contents of a few stomachs: A, 327 nymphs of dragonflies;
B, 340 grasshoppers, 52 bugs,
3 beetles, 2 wasps, and 1
spider; C, 82 beetles, 87 bugs,
984 ants, 1 cricket, 1 grass-
hopper, and 2 spiders. About
four-fifths of the total food is
a strong point
in favor" of this bird. Other
injurious creatures eaten are
biilbugs, squash bugs, leaf-
hoppers, click beetles (adults
of wireworms), May beetles
(adults of white grubs), and
weevils. Franklin's gull is
probably the most beneficial
bird of its group. (See Farm-
ers' Bui. 497, pp. 19-22.)
OUR POLICEMEN OF THE AIR
NO ONE can read the preceding
pages without an immediate desire
to become personally acquainted
with each of the handsome creatures
pictured. How indefatigably the wrens,
swallows, nighthawks, owls, red-tailed
hawks, etc., are working to lighten our
labors on the farm and orchard.
Birds are our best friends. They are
our most efficient allies in the incessant
warfare that must be waged by man
against insect pests. Notwithstanding
our efforts, insects are not diminishing
in number, but in many localities are in-
creasing. What would happen were
birds exterminated no one can foretell
with absolute certainty, but it is almost
certain, says Dr. Henshaw, that within a
limited time not only would it be impos-
sible to grow fruits and grain, but the
greater part of our vegetation would be
destroyed.* The more carefully birds'
habits are studied and their food inves-
tigated, the more apparent it is that man
cannot do without them.
Pages 669-697 are an admirable illus-
tration of the educational work con-
ducted by our U. S. Biological Survey.
The temptation to shoot a hawk or owl.
perching or flying, which now is almost
irresistible to many, will soon disappear
when the man with the gun realizes that
he is seeking to put a friend to death.
But the Biological Survey does not
confine its studies to birds alone; it also
helps to protect us against four-footed
pests. Its experts have shown how
wolves, which in recent years have be-
come very numerous and destructive on
cattle and sheep ranges, may be de-
stroyed by poison, and it has recom-
mended measures which, if energetically
and persistently pursued, will probably
result in the practical extermination of
these savage animals. In some sections
of the United States the damage by
meadow and house mice, by prairie dogs,
rats, gophers, ground squirrels, and other
small gnawing animals amounts to mil-
lions of dollars a year. One of the small
* See "Policemen of the Air," by Henry W.
Henshaw, in the National Geographic Mag-
azine, February, 1908.
ground squirrels of Washington State
injures the wheat crop in a single county
of that State to the extent of half a mil-
lion dollars annually. The Survey men
are successfully devising a method to de-
stroy these pests, and thus relieve this
serious drain on the farm.
An important duty of the Biological
Survey is to prevent the entrance into
the United States of undesirable bird or
animal immigrants. "The English spar-
row serves -as an ever-ready example of
the disastrous consequences of the un-
wise introduction of a species into a new
home. Under the present law and sys-
tem of inspection, this pest could never
have obtained a foothold in America,
since so v^ell known were the bird's
habits in its native land that its disas-
trous career on this continent would
have been foreseen and its entry pro-
hibited.
"Under the mistaken idea that the
mongoose would prove beneficial by de-
voting itself to the destruction of small
rodents, and ignorant of the fact that the
animal is omnivorous and one of the
most destructive creatures in existence,
more than one attempt has been made to
import it into the United States, where
its successful introduction would prove
nothing less than a national calamity."
On pages .669-697 references are made
to other publications of the Biological
Survey. Several of them are out of
print, but the majority may be obtained
by persons desiring further information
by applying to the Superintendent of
Documents, Washington, D. C, and in-
closing the .price of the bulletins desired.
Farmers' Bulletin 54 and 497, each $0.05
Biological Survey Bulletins 9, 13, 23,
each 05
Biological Survey Bulletin 15 10
Biological Survey Bulletin 21..' 15
Biological Survey Bulletins 30 and 44,
each 20
Biological Survey Bulletin 32 25
Biological Survey Bulletin 34 40
Biological Survey Bulletin 39 30
Biological Survey Bulletin 37. .... . 35
Yearbook, Department of Agriculture,
189S 55
Biological 'Survey Bulletins 3 and 24 are out
of print and cannot be supplied.
698
ENCOURAGING BIRDS AROUND THE HOME
By Frederick H. Kennard
NOW that our country has really
awakened to the importance of
bird life to the citizens, and at
last enacted some very wise legislation,
forbidding the killing of migratory and
insectivorous birds, putting migratory
game birds under Federal control, and
forbidding the importation of plumage
from abroad, public interest in birds and
their great economic value seems to have
heen stirred as never before.*
Spring will soon be here, and those of
xis who are thinking of doing our little
toward attracting the birds must be get-
ting ready for the early arrivals from the
South.
Birds come north for the very special
purpose of finding a proper place for the
rearing of their young, and, this task ac-
complished, as autumn approaches, soon
depart in search of areas where there
will be throughout the winter plenty of
food and cover and a more congenial cli-
mate.
If we want to make our homes at-
tractive to birds, we must always keep
the above facts in mind. If in summer
we want to attract the migrants from the
South, as well as the permanent resi-
dents, we must furnish them with proper
places for the rearing of their young,
which should include not only nesting
sites, but cover, food, and water ; and if
in winter we want to keep some of the
permanent residents about our homes
and attract migrants from the North, we
must remember that they are again in
search of food and cover.
Once having attracted the birds, a
sharp lookout must be kept in order to
protect them from their enemies — cats,
"bird-hunting dogs, red squirrels, skunks,
foxes, and other predatory animals, not
* Numerous reports on the economical value
-of birds have been issued by the United States
Department of Agriculture. One of the best
"books on the subject is entitled "Birds in Their
Relation to Man," by Weed and Dearborn,
published by T. B. Lippincott & Co., Phila-
delphia, Pa.
forgetting the small boy that used to be
ubiquitous ; English sparrows, horned
owls, and sometimes crows and jays,
cooper and sharp-shinned hawks, and
last, but not least, the black snake.
HOW TO ATTRACT THE BIRDS
To sum up, if we are to attract birds in
summer, we must furnish them with
proper nesting sites, cover, food, and also
water ; and if we want to keep them in
winter, we must again furnish them with
cover and food, and always protect them
from their enemies, f
The most important factor in attract-
ing birds is the supplying of cover suit-
able for their wants. With this properly
done, except in the case of birds that
nest abput buildings or in holes, nature
will supply the nesting sites, as well as
take care of the food supply, except in
winter.
At "The Pines," my place in Newton
Center, Mass., we have had for eight
years under close observation about 44
acres, comprising three acres of lawn
dotted with a few old apple trees, six
acres of wet meadow, which are allowed
to grow up with tussocks of grass, cedars,
alders, wild roses, and the like, and the
remaining 35 acres divided in two areas
of about equal size. The first of these
areas, that about the house, is covered
with a growth of pines, hemlocks, ce-
dars, birches and various other deciduous
trees, among which we have taken pains
to cultivate suitable coppice and under-
growth, while the second area, covered
with deciduous woods, is, on account of
a fire that ran through it a number of
years ago, almost devoid of the smaller
evergreens or protecting coppice and
undergrowth (see pages 319 and 320).
In the first of these areas (page 319)
some thirty different species of birds
t A useful book that every one should read
who is interested in birds is "Methods of At-
tracting Birds, ' by Gilbert H. Trafton, pub-
lished by the Houghton-Mifflin Co. of Boston,
Mass.
315
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317
A BIRD PAKAJJiSli
Photo by Thomas K- Marr and Son
A woodland path within a few feet of the residence at The Pines, flanked by under-
growth, ferns, blueberries, huckleberries, dogwoods, etc. Along this path a ruffed grouse
fmilds its nest, as do also chewinks, black and white creepers, and oven birds, while in the
trees pine and black-throated green warblers, bluejays, and robins also build their nests. <■
3i8
-•■■■■: ^ nkWJ-i f '
lSu
Photo by Thomas E. Mai
ANOTHER PLACE WHERE BIRDS LTKF, TO NEST
A wood road at The Pines. In the thickets along its sides the catbird, cuckoo, golden-
winged warbler, chestnut-sided warbler, bluejay, brown thrush, chewink, purple finch, tanager,
and other birds find attractive nesting sites. This wood road runs through that portion of
Mr. Kennard's place on which the undergrowth has befirl encouraged, and on which ever
thirty varieties of birds breed each year (see page 315). Contrast with the scene on page 320.
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Photo by Ernest Harold Baynes
FLOCK 01? QUAIL AT A FOOD •STATION
"In bad weather, however, particularly in the North; where we are so apt to be covered
up with snow, more artificial means of feeding should be resorted to, and food stations,
food-houses, and food shelters of various sorts should be established in proper places. If
quail or grouse are to be fed, inconspicuous bough shelters may be built in protected places
among the fields or woods most frequented by them" (see page 3,]i ).
t m
i
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Photo by Ernest Harold Paynes
PINE SISKINS AND RED POLLS FEEDING AEOLTT A HOUSE: NEW HAMPSHIRE
The pine siskin is a lover of evergreens and spends the winter wandering from copse
to copse in search of seeds and pine cones. The red poll is a winter visitor from the far
North, and with its rich crimson head and breast makes" a pretty picture in the snow.
3^9
33°
Photo by lirnest Harold Caviius
Til i; FOOD 1:1:1,1,
'Baron von Berlepsch has invented a food bell (hat supplies grain, etc.. automatically
from a receptacle above, and which ma\ be suspended from a tree or piazza roof or any
other place that seems best" (see page 332).
Sunflowers may be planted in groups
about the flower garden 01" in lines among
the rows of vegetables ; wilel sarsaparilla
and pokeberry along the boundary walls ;
while if you have a corner somewhere in
the fields that can be planted with buck-
wheat and Japanese millet, it will prove
a great attraction, particularly in winter.
FOOD-HOUSES AND SHELTERS
In bad weather, however, particularly
in the North, where we are so apt to be
covered up with snow, more artificial
means of feeding should be resorted to,
and food stations, food-houses, and food
shelters of various sorts should be estab-
lished in proper places. J f cjuail or grouse
are to be fed, inconspicuous bough shel-
ters niav be built in protected places
among the fields or woods most fre
cfttented by them, while about the house
or among the neighboring plantations all
sorts of devices may be resorted to.
Baron von Berlepsch, in Germany, has
invented a food-house, an adaptation of
which, called the Audubon food-house
has been much used mi this side of the
water, and is most satisfactory (see page
32J). It consists of a square hip roof,
with vertical glass sides suspended be-
neath and open al the bottom, the whole
supported on a central rustic cedar post,
encircled with food trays beneath the
roof. The glass sides protect the food
331
A BLUETAY FEEDING ON SUET
Photo by Ernest Harold Baynes
"Perhaps the simplest scheme of feeding, the least trouble, and the most attractive to
numbers of birds, is the tying of a piece of suet to a convenient limb, or perhaps to the
balustrade of one's piazza, preferably in a protected spot and one that can at the same time
be easily watched from some window" (see page 333).
trays from the weather and at the same
time admit light and allow of easy ob-
servation. These, when placed among
the shrubbery about one's house, prove
most attractive.
Baron von Berlepsch has invented also
a food bell that supplies grain, etc., auto-
matically from a receptacle above, and
which may be suspended from a tree or
piazza roof, or any other convenient place
(see page 331).
Window boxes are a never-ceasing
source of enjoyment. Mr. Ernest Harold
Baynes built the first I ever saw at his
home in Meriden, N. H., a particularly
attractive one, which has helped him to
become intimate with an astonishing va-
riety of birds (see page 336).
Food shelves may be put up in all sorts
of protected places — about houses, against
tree trunks, etc. ; and a food car, a sort
of moving free-lunch counter, which may
be run conveniently on a wire from
window to neighboring tree, is actually
manufactured by one enterprising gentle-
man ; and the same man builds also a
sheltered food-house that turns with the
wind like a weather vane, so as to present
always a lee side for the better protec-
tion of the birds (see page 326).
Baron von Berlepsch originated also
what he calls a food tree, a freshly cut
evergreen, preferably spruce or fir, or
perhaps a discarded Christmas tree, set
up in some convenient place, over which
has been poured hot, and then allowed to
cool, a mixture of food that is attractive
to both insectivorous and graminivorous
birds, the receipt for which is given in
the little book, "How to Attract and Pro-
tect Wild Birds" :*
"White bread (dried and ground), 4^2
oz. ; meat (dried and ground), 3 oz. ;
hemp, 6 oz. ; crushed hemp, 3 oz. ; maw,
3 oz. ; poppy flour, i T / 2 oz. ; millet (white)
* For sale by the National Association of
Audubon Societies, 1974 Broadway, New York
City, N. V. Price, 40 cents.
332
3 oz. ; oats, i l / 2 oz. ;
dried elderberries, i 1 /,
oz. ; sunflower seeds,
i J/2 oz. ; ants' eggs,
I>2 oz."
A SIMPLE AND AT-
TRACTIVE FOOD
SUPPLY
Perhaps the simplest
scheme of feeding, the
least trouble and the
most attractive t o
numbers of birds, is
the tying of a piece of
suet to a convenient
limb, or perhaps to the
balustrade o f one's
piazza, preferably in a
protected spot and one
that can at the same
time be easily watched
from some window
(see page 332).
In all these food-
houses various kinds
of food should be sup-
plied — suet, crumbs,
millet, h e m p, rape-
seed, canary-seed, and
the like. On my place
the birds have such a
(vealth of natural food
that it is only during
the winter storms and when the ground
is covered with snow that they visit the
food-houses ; but on many other places —
as, for instance, in Meriden, X. II.. where
Mr. Bayncs and the Meriden Jiird Club
are doing such good work — there have
been food-houses erected on places along
the main street, entirely apart from any
protecting shrubbery or natural food sup-
ply, and many of these food-houses seem
to be well patronized both winter and
summer.
Water, particularly during the sum-
mer months or times of drought, is, of
course, necessary for the birds. If they
can't get it on your place, they will be
forced to look elsewhere. The proper
installment of a drinking fountain or
bird bath is a simple affair, and one that
is almost sure to prove a great attraction
to the birds, as well as a never-failing
source of entertainment to the owner.
Drinking fountains may be purchased
ready made or manufactured at home.
Photo by I!. S. Cowdish
OX IXTIMATTC TERMS
This jolly little white-breasted nuthatch has just taken a dainty
morsel from the lips of its friend. These little birds are very clever
climbers and can run up and down tree trunks in the most agile
manner.
Almost any shallow receptacle will do
when placed in some quiet spot not too
far from protecting shrubbery, but out
of reach of skulking cats. Where the
cats have not all been eliminated, it is
sometimes safer to place the bath on a
pedestal.
A pool with foundation of concrete
sunken in the ground, partially filled with
earth and stones and planted with cat-
tails, Japanese iris, or other moisture-
loving plants, or perhaps with water-
lilies and inhabited by a few goldfish,
can be made a very interesting feature
of any g'arden, to say nothing of its at-
tractiveness to birds. It is essential, how-
ever, that the slope of the sides should
be gradual and the water at the edges
shallow (see, pages 338 and 339).
If one has a brook or natural pond on
the place;, much can be done, particularly
if the bottom of the pond is suitable for
the planting of food for ducks. If the
lay of the ground is such that a meadow
333
334
wfaBtsteew//,/'. ->.;,
A SANDWICH FOR TWO
oto by Louise Birl Bayne
Having accepted the invitation, the bird settles down to enjoy his meal. The fact that
he must share a sandwich with his host does not disturb him, for, like all birds, he is quick
to recognize and trust a human friend (see picture, page 334).
or woodland glade may be flooded and a
pond thereby installed, there is hardly
any limit to the enjoyment that may be
derived from a pond of this sort.
ATTRACTING THE WILD DUCK
There is a little woodland glade, con-
taining an acre or so, on my place, an
opening in the woods surrounded by red
maples, birches, alders, poison sumach,
white azalea, high-bush blueberries, etc.,
■which I flooded one winter merely as a
safe skating pond for the children in the
neighborhood.
Imagine my surprise and delight when
one spring day, after the ice had gone
out, I discovered there a whole flock of
wild wood-ducks, and later during the
summer was able to watch a flock of little
"flappers," the progeny of a pair of wild
black ducks that had bred there. Herons
came there, too, and red wings fre-
quented the edge of the pond. From an
uninteresting swamp the place had been
335
THE HOSTESS ENTERTAINS
Photo by Ernest Harold Baynes
"Window boxes are a never-ceasing source of enjoyment. Mr. Ernest Harold Baynes
built the first I ever saw, at his home in Meriden, N. H., a particularly attractive one. which
has helped him to become intimate with an astonishing variety "of birds" (see page 332)..
TAKINfl THE CAKE
Photo by Louise Uirt Baynes
This photo shows how responsive birds are to a little attention and how tame they may
become. This wild chickadee will enter the house, perch upton his favorite delicacy, and
enjoy- a meal in no way affrighted by the presence of his human entertainers.
336
WHAT BIRDS CAN DO
Photo by Joseph II. Dodson
A great-crested flycatcher house, with bluebird, suspended from a pear tree, from which
Mr. Dodson last year picked eight bushels of pears with: not a worm hole in one, and that
notwithstanding the fact that the tree had never been sprayed. A flycatcher is certainly a
cheaper investment than a spraying-machine.
"About houses and buildings, particularly those on our farms, the ordinary type of bird-
house rather than the hollow log is perhaps more appropriate. Bluebirds, tree-swallows, and
house-wrens take to them readily, and if you have a large house on a high pole you may
be lucky enough to attract a colony of martins" (see text, page 341).
completely metamorphosed into a very
attractive and interesting spot, replete
with bird life.
If wild rice can be made to grow,
ducks will be sure to come in greater
numbers each year, while regular feeding
with corn at proper times may prove an
additional attraction to whole flocks of
ducks during the migration. Tame call-
ducks may be introduced, and if there are
near-by woods nest boxes for the attrac-
tion of the wood-ducks should be put up.
One may even go into the raising of
ducks, though this is often both bother-
some and expensive, while the simple
flooding of a meadow and intelligent
planting of its shores is comparatively
little trouble.
Mr. Herbert K. Job, State Ornitholo-
gist of Connecticut, is having some very
interesting experiences on a game pre-
serve in Connecticut, where low-lying
areas h'ave been flooded and the wild
ducks attracted in increasing numbers
each year from miles around ( see picture,
page 338 ) .
I know of one man in Canada who
several years ago fed a small flock of
wild geese that chanced to alight in a
pond close beside his house. The geese
appreciated the treatment so much that
they later returned with friends, and
have kept it up from year to year until
now I believe that he has had at one time
several hundred wild geese virtually in
his front yard, and in a very exposed
337
A FLOCK OF ilAFFARDS AS VISITORS
Photo by Dr. John C. Phillips
"If wild rice can be made to grow, ducks will be sure to come in greater numbers each
year, while regular feeding with corn at proper times ma)' prove an additional attraction to
whole flocks of ducks during the migration. Tame call-ducks may be introduced, and if
there are near-by woods, nest-boxes for the attraction of the wood-ducks should be put up"
(see page 337 1.
WIFO PFACK DUCK ON A GAME PRESERVE
Photo by Herbert K. Job
"Mr. Herbert K. Job, State Ornithologist of Connecticut, is having some very interesting
experiences on a game preserve in Connecticut, where low-lying areas have been flooded
and the wild ducks attracted in increasing numbers each year from miles around" (see
page 337)-
338
song-sparrows taking a bath
'A pool with foundation of concrete sunken in the ground
Photo by Ernest Harold Paynes
. can be made a very
interesting feature of any garden, to say nothing of its attractiveness to birds. It is essen-
tial, however, that the slope of the sides should be gradual and the water at the edges
shallow" (see page 333).
position at that. They seem absolutely
fearless, come and go at will, though only
a short distance away are gunners who
are waiting to take a crack at them.
Only a few of us have ponds to which
geese may be attracted, but the above ex-
periment shows what can be and has been
done in the way of attracting and taming
locally the shy wild geese.
HOUSES FOR THE BIRDS
Of bird-houses, to be supplied for those
birds that nest about buildings or in
holes of trees, there seems to be an al-
most infinite variety ; tree stumps, real or
artificial, boxes, cottages, houses, large
and elaborate mansions, barrel-houses,
gourds, flower-pots, tin-cans, shelves,
and all kinds of contraptions.
Mr. Ernest Thompson Seton went so
far as to construct on his place in Con-
necticut a huge artificial stump, filled
with imitation woodpeckers' holes, etc.
He attracted numbers of different kinds
of birds and animals, and he seems to
have had no end of fun with it. It is not
allowed to all of us, however, to be given
either the opportunity or the enthusiasm
possessed by Mr. Seton.
Of the various kinds of houses space
will allow but brief mention. On my own
place, which is covered largely with
woods, I have used the Berlepsch type of
vertical boxes with considerable success.
These are simply sections of logs, hol-
lowed out by special machinery in a very
particular manner to represent wood-
pecker cavities, with entrance hole in
side of desired diameter, and covered by
a wooden cap or roof that may be lifted
for purposes of investigation or in order
that the nests may be cleaned out from
time to lime, the whole bolted to an
oaken batten, by which they may be fas-
tened to trees (see pages 323 and 325).
These may be obtained in Germany,
339
A BALTIMORE ORIOLE AL-'TlCR A BATH
Photo by Ernest Harold Baylies
The Baltimore oriole is remarkable for its bright colors, and to these it owes its name,
as the livery of the Lords Baltimore, who founded Maryland, was orange and black of just
those tones that the bird exhibits. Cats have been eliminated on this place.
A BROWN THRASHER BATHING
oto by Louise Birt BayiK
"Water, particularly during the summer months or times of drought, is necessary for
the birds. If they can't get it on your place, they will be forced to look elsewhere. The
proper installment of a drinking fountain or bird bath is a simple affair, and one that is
almost sure to prove a great attraction to the birds, as well as a never-failing source of
entertainment to the owner" (see text, page 333).
34°
A COLONY OF EAVE SWAIAQWS
Photo by Fred B. McKechnifl
This colony of swallows built their nests beneath the eaves of a barn at Luenburg,
\ t. Note the partial support given by the narrow molding. These eave swallows become
much attached to their homes, and if undisturbed will return year after year with unfailing
regularity.
but are now manufactured by at least
two people in this country. Those on
my place have been occupied by screech-
owls, bluebirds, chickadees, tree-swal-
lows, nickers, white-breasted nuthatches,
and great-crested flycatchers. House-
wrens, which are very local in our part
of the country, have so far avoided them,
and I have failed ignominiously to at-
tract either the downy or the hairy wood-
peckers, both of which frequent my
woods.
One firm makes bird-houses out of
natural hollow logs or limbs, a hole bored
in the side, and with wooden cap and
bottom, while another makes an imita-
tion woodpecker's nest of pottery. The
Berlepsch type are, however, in my opin-
ion, far and away ahead of these others.
BIRDS TffiAT WIEE NEST IN PREPARED
HOUSES
About diouses and buildings, particu-
larly those on our farms, the ordinary
type of bird-house rather than the hollow
log is perhaps more appropriate. Blue-
birds, tree-swallows, and house-wrens
take to them readily, and if you have a
large house on a high pole you may be
lucky enough to attract a colony of
martins. Chickadees, great-crested fly-
catchers, and screech-owls may use these
boxes, and the following is a list of birds
recorded as having bred in nest boxes of
one sort or another:
Wood-duck, sparrow-hawk, screech-
owl, flicker, red-headed woodpecker,
great-crested flycatcher, starling, Eng-
34i
%
1'lioLo by Louise Uirt BayneS
THE DAINTIEST GUEST
A picture of an inquisitive and very puzzled
humniing-bird probing an artificial flower
1 i six sparrow, house-finch, tree and violet
green swallow, purple martin, house-
wren, Park-man's wren, Bewick's wren,
Vigor's wren, and Texas Bewick's wren,,
white-breasted nuthatch, tufted titmouse,
black-capped chickadee, Oregon chicka-
dee, Carolina chickadee, robin, and three
varieties of bluebirds — eastern, western,
and mountain. To this list the Carolina
wren ought probably to be added ; though
while I do not know personally of any
record of its actually building in a bird-
box, it builds about houses and in the
most unheard of and crazy places.
Robins and phcebes may be encour-
aged by shelves conveniently placed be-
neath the roofs of porches, piazzas, and
sheds, while the insect-eating barn and
eave swallows may often be helped in
their choice of nesting sites by a support-
ing shelf. Vines on trellises or about the
piazza posts are attractive nesting sites
for chipping sparrows, as well as robins,
and I once knew of a bluejay that built
in a wistaria vine overhanging a friend's
front porch.
One can never tell just what birds are
going to do. Crows are reported to have
nested in one of the squares in the city
of Philadelphia and on Beacon Hill in
Boston, while a pair of sparrow-hawks
have bred beneath the eaves of the Law-
rence Scientific School in Cambridge,
Mass.
Chimney swifts should also be encour-
aged, and when possible the chimneys
MOTHER AXD DAUGHTER
Thoto by Ernest Harold Baynes
This is a photo of a wild chickadee feeding her young in June. She docs not fear in summer
the hand that feeds her in winter
342
Photo by lirnest Harold Baynes
THE BEST KIND OS A BIKD ON A HAT
left open at the top, and so constructed
as to admit of their ready occupancy.*
THE ENEMIES OP THE BIRDS
Of bird enemies, cats are undoubtedly
the worst, and maudlin sentiment should
not be wasted upon them, for they are
incorrigible. The plain, ordinary alley
cat should be eliminated when possible,
and they make, line fertilizers when
planted about the roots of one's favorite
grape-vine. Cat - possessing neighbors
* One of the most absorbing and interesting
books of the present day, replete with infor-
mation on the above subject, called "Useful
Birds and Their Protection," by Edward Howe
Forbush, State Ornithologist of Massachusetts.
has been published by tbe Massachusetts Board
of Agriculture and may be obtained from them
for the sum of $i.oo.
should be warned that if their cats are
caught trespassing they will be turned
into fertilizer.
Red squirrels are next on the list and
should be shot on sight, but i have never
found the depredations of the gray squir-
rel to warrant similar treatment. Bird-
chasing dogs are a nuisance and should
lie restrained during the breeding season.
Skunks and foxes should both be dis-
couraged, and the wily raccoon and elu-
sive weasel also, if perchance they are
found to lurk about.
Of the hawks, the cooper and sharp-
shinned .hawks should both be shot at
sight, while of the owls, the great horned
is incapable of reform. The little screech-
owl is almost always beneficial on ac-
count of the numbers of mice it often de-
343
344
THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE
stroys, but individual screech-owls are
often destructive to bird life.
Crows and jays will bear watching.
There seem to be good crows and jays,
and then again individuals among them
of exceeding bad habits, as many a long-
suffering bird family knows to its sorrow.
In many places the English sparrows
arc pests and should be shot and trapped
relentlessly. They are pretty canny
birds, and if once they learn you are af-
ter them with a gun they quickly desert
the premises. If owing to surrounding
conditions gunning for them seems un-
desirable, traps may be used with telling
effect. There are several kinds in use in
this country.
Last, but jiot least, the black snake
should be killed whenever found ; its
large size, great activity, tree-climbing
propensities, and taste for eggs and small
birds have fairly won for it the reputa-
tion of being one of the birds' deadliest
enemies.
OUR GREATEST TRAVELERS
Birds that Fly from Pole to Pole and Shun the
Darkness: Birds that Make 2,500
Miles in a Single Flight
By Wells W. Cooke
Op the Biological Survey. U. S. Department oe Agriculture
THE migration of birds has lung
been considered an unfathomable
mystery, but late investigations
have furnished abundant data on the
when and where of migration and solved
many of its puzzles. The Bureau of Bio-
logic Survey of the United States De-
partment of Agriculture has collected
much information on the migration of
North American birds, and this article is
an attempt to put in popular form some
of the data that have already appeared
in the more technical bulletins and re-
ports. No correct understanding of bird
migration is possible until it is con-
sidered as a voluntary evolution. All
migratory movements must have begun
with changes of location, which were
only very slight.
From this short migration, benefit ac-
crued to individuals or to their posterity.
Migration became a fixed habit, and the
distance covered gradually — very gradu-
ally — increased as each succeeding exten-
sion proved advantageous. It is not to
be supposed that every attempted exten-
sion was a success ; in fact, it is more
probable that only a small part of the
experimental pioneering routes were per-
manently adopted.
Moreover, it must be borne in mind
that the time occupied in the establish-
ment of present migration habits and
routes was measured in geologic ages,
and there is no reason to suppose that
changes took place during these ages any
faster than they do now.
It is about a hundred years since the
first reliable notes on migration in the
United Estates were recorded, and this
period has proven too short to show any
perceptible difference in its time, direc-
tion, or speed. It can be affirmed, then,
that the migration routes of today are
the results of innumerable experiments
as to the best way to travel from the
winter to the summer home and return.
It can also be said that food supplies
en route have been the determining fac-
tor in the choice of one course in prefer-
Photo by George Slliras, 3rd
TWO GROUND DOVES AT THE BAIT, WHILE A MALE, CARDINAL LOOKS ON
347
THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE
MAP SHOWING THE PRINCIPAL ROUTES USED BY BIRDS IN THEIR MIGRATIONS
BETWEEN NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA
errce to another, and not the distance
from one food base to the next. The
location of plenty of suitable provender
having been ascertained, the birds pay
no attention to the length of the single
flight required to reach it.
PRINCIPAL MIGRATION ROUTES OF NORTH
AMERICA
The shape of the land areas in the
northern half of the Western Hemisphere
has tended to great variations in migra-
tory movements. If the whole area from
Brazil to Canada were a plain with the
general characteristics of the middle sec-
tion of the Mississippi Valley, the study
of bird migration would lose much of its
fascination. There would be a simple
rhythmical swinging of the migration
pendulum back and forth spring and fall.
Rut a large part of the space between
Brazil and Canada is occupied by the
Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and
parts of the Atlantic Ocean, all devoid
of sustenance for land birds. The two
areas of abundant food supplies are
North America and northern South
America, separated by the comparatively
small land areas of Mexico and Central
America, the islands of the West Indies,
and the great stretches of foodless
waters.
The different courses taken by the
birds to get around or over this inter-
vening inhospitable region are almost as
numerous as the bird families that trav-
erse them., and only some of the more
important ones are shown on the accom-
panying map (page 347). The routes
are numbered from the east westward,
the middle one, No. 4, being by far the
most important. In general it may be
said to extend from northwestern Flor-
ida and western Louisiana across the
Gulf of Mexico to the southern coast of
the Gulf (Yucatan to Vera Cruz), and
OUR GREATEST TRAVELERS
34S
MIGRATION ROUTtf 0? Th£ BLACK-POLL WARBLKRS THAT NEST IN ALASKA
This bird winters in South America alongside the cliff swallow, but in summer seems to
try and get as far as possible from its winter neighbor. Note how its northward route
diverges from the northward flight of the cliff swallow, shown on the map on the opposite
page. It travels at night, often flying several hundred miles in the darkness (see pages
349, 351, and 363).
349
THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE
MIGRATION ROUTE OF THE CLIFF SWALLOWS THAT NEST IN NOVA SCOTIA (SEE PAGES
348, 35 1, AND 36s)
The swallow, unlike the warbler, travels by day
thence by land through Central America
to South America. Probably more indi-
viduals follow this route than all the
other routes combined.
The birds east of the Alleghany Moun-
tains move southwest in the fall approxi-
mately parallel with the seacoast, and
most keep this same direction across the
Gulf to eastern Mexico. The birds of
the central Mississippi Valley go south-
ward to and over the Gulf. The birds
between the Missouri River and the edge
of the plains, and those of Canada east
of the Rocky Mountains, move south-
eastward and south until they join the
others in their passage of the Gulf.
In other words, the great majority of
North American birds bound for a win-
ter's sojourn in Central or South Amer-
ica elect a short cut across the Gulf of
Mexico in preference to a longer land
journey by way of Florida or Texas. In
fact, millions of them cross the Gulf at
its widest part, which necessitates a sin-
gle flight of 500 to 700 miles.
The peninsula of Florida extends far
to the south, and the great island of
Cuba forms a convenient stepping-stone
between its coast-line and Yucatan. A
bird taking this highway would avoid
any long single flight ; yet, with the ex-
ception of a few day-migrating swallows,
no bird is known to follow this route.
A probable explanation is that southern
Florida has vastly less bird food per
square mile than the country to the
OUR GREATEST TRAVELERS
35a
northward, and the birds prefer a single
long flight with abundant rations to a
series of shorter flights on scantier fare.
Migration route No. 3, which is by
way of Cuba and Jamaica, offers a much
shorter journey to South America, but it
is traversed by only a few species. It is
popular as far as Cuba with some 60 spe-
cies, of whom great numbers spend the
winter on the island; about 30 of these
species have a small contingent who pass
on to make Jamaica their winter resort ;
but scarcely more than 10 species try the
final long flight across the Caribbean Sea
to South America. Among these are one
species each of six widely differing fami-
lies — the bank swallow, gray kingbird,
Florida nighthawk, Alice, thrush, black-
poll warbler, and bobolink. The other
members of those families employ en-
tirely different migration routes.
It is not possible to ascertain whether
these travelers on the so-called "bobolink
route" represent adventurous species that
are seeking to improve on the round-
about course through Mexico, or old
fogies who hold to the way of their fore-
fathers long after their brethren have
proven to their own satisfaction the su-
perior advantages of the more western
route.
The next route to the eastward, No. 2,
traverses the chain of islands that ex-
tend from Florida to South America.
This, too, is considerably shorter than
the Florida- Yucatan route, and land can
always be kept in sight ; yet this line also
is discredited. A few individuals of
about 25 species follow it as far as Porto
Rico, and only 6 of these continue to the
South American coast, and these last in
such diminished numbers as to form an
insignificant fraction of the winter visit-
ants in that region.
The explanation, of course, lies in the
question of food. The combined area of
all the West India islands east of Porto
Rico is so small that it could not furnish
subsistence for even one per cent of the
myriads of birds which throng the main
migration route across the Gulf.
To the westward the short route, No.
5, stretches a few hundred miles from
the coast of Texas to northern Vera
Cruz, h is adopted by a few Kentucky
warblers, worm-eating warblers, golden-
wing warblers, and some others, who
seek in this way to avoid a slow journey
by land across a region scantily supplied
with moist woodlands.
Still farther west, routes 6 and 7 rep-
resent the land journeys of those birds
from the western United States who
winter in" Mexico and Central America.
Their trips are comparatively short ; most
of them are content to stop when they
have reached the middle districts of
Mexico, and only a few pass east of the
southern part of that country.
Route No. 1 remains to be noticed. It
extends in an approximately north-and-
south line from Nova Scotia to the
Lesser Antilles and the northern coast
of South America. Though more than
a thousand miles shorter than the main
migration" route, it is not employed by
any land bird. But it is a favorite fall
route for thousands of water birds, and
as such will be referred to again more
in detail.
It must not be considered that these
routes as outlined on the map repre-
sent distinctly segregated pathways with
clearly dtefined borders. On the contrary,
they are^ merely convenient subdivisions
of the one great flightway which extends
from North to South America. There is
probably 110 single mile in the whole line
between northern Mexico and the Lesser
Antilles which is not crossed each fall
by migrating birds. What is meant is
that the \ great bulk of the birds, both as
to species and number of individuals,
cross the Gulf to eastern Mexico, while
to the eastward their numbers steadily
diminish 1 .
LIGHT-HOUSES LURE THOUSANDS OF BIRDS
TO DESTRUCTION
It is not to be supposed that these long
flights over the waters can occur without
many casualties, and not the smallest of
the perils arises from the beacons which
man has erected along the coast to insure
his own safety. "Last night I could have
filled a mail-sack with the bodies of little
warblers which killed themselves strik-
ing against my light," wrote the keeper
351
THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE
of Fowey Rocks light-house, in southern
Florida.
Nor was this an unusual tragedy.
Every spring the lights along the coast
lure to destruction myriads of birds who
are en route from their winter homes in
the South to their summer nesting places
in tine North. Every fall a still greater
death-toll is exacted when the return
journey is made.
Lighthouses are scattered every few
miles along the more than 3,000 miles
of our coast-line, but two light-houses —
Fowey Rocks and Sombrero Key — are
responsible for far more bird tragedies
than any others. The reason is twofold :
their geographic position and the char-
acter of their lights. Both are situated
at the southern end of Florida, where
countless thousands of birds pass each
year to and from Cuba. Both lights are
of the first magnitude, on towers 100-140
feet high, and Fowey Rocks has a fixed
white light, the deadliest of all.
A red light or a rapidly flashing one
repels the birds, but a steady white light
piercing the storm and fog proves irre-
sistible. From wdiatever direction they
approach they veer to windward, and
then, flying against the wind, seek the
object of their infatuation. The larger
part do not strike with sufficient force to
injure themselves, but, like great moths,
they flutter in and out of the light's rays,
and finally settle on the platform or
framework to await the abatement of
the storm or the coming of sufficient day-
light to enable them once more to orient
themselves.
NEIGHBORS IN WINTER AND REMOTE
STRANGERS IN SUMMER
The next two maps (pages 34R and 349)
show the extremes of direct and circui-
tous routes of migration. All black-poll
warblers winter in South America. Those
that are to nest in Alaska strike straight
across the Caribbean Sea to Florida
and go northwestward to the Mississippi
River. Then the direction changes and
a course is laid almost due north to
northern Minnesota, in order to avoid
the treeless plains of North Dakota. But
when the forests of the Saskatchewan
are reached, the northwestern course is
resumed and, with a slight verging to-
ward the Vvest, is held until the nesting
site in the Alaska spruces is attained.
The cliff swallows are winter neigh-
bors in South America of the black-poll
warblers. But when in early spring na-
ture prompts the swallows who are to
nest in Nova Scotia to seek the far-off
land where'they were hatched, they begin
their journey to that region — which is
situated exactly north of their winter
abode — by "a westward flight of several
hundred miles to Panama. Thence they
move leisurely along the western shore
of the Caribbean Sea to Mexico and,
still avoiding any long trip over water,
go completely around the western end of
the Gulf. Hence as they cross Louisiana
they are moving in the opposite direction
from that in which they started. A
northeasterly course from Eouisiana to
Maine, and an easterly one to Nova
Scotia, completes their spring migration.
This circuitous route has added more
than 2,00a miles to the distance traveled.
THE WARBLER TRAVELS AT NIGHT, THE
SWALLOW BY DAY
Why should the swallow elect so much
more roundabout a route than that taken
by the warbler ? The explanation is sim-
ple. The warbler is a night migrant.
Launching into the air soon after night-
fall, it wings its way through the dark-
ness toward some favorite lunch station,
usually several hundred miles distant,
where it rests and feeds for several days
before undertaking the next stage of its
journey. Its migration consists of a
series of long flights from one feeding
place to the next, and naturally it takes
the most direct course between stations,
not deviating for any body of water that
can be compassed at a single flight.
On the other hand, the swallow is a
day migrant. Little and often is its rule.
It begins its spring migration several
weeks earlier than the warbler and
catches each day's rations of flying in-
sects during a few hours of slow evolu-
tions, which at the same time accomplish
OUR GREATEST TRAVELERS
TWO OF THE PRINCIPAL MIGRATION ROUTES -OE THE PALM WARBLER
They winter in the Gulf States from Louisiana eastward and throughout the Greater
Antilles to Porto Rico. The Louisiana birds nest in Labrador, and those from the Antilles
cut diagonally across the United States to summer in central Canada. The two routes cross
each other in Georgia at approximately right angles.
the work of migration. It keeps along
the insect-teeming shores, and the 2,000
extra miles thereby added to the migra-
tion route are but a tithe of the distance
covered in pursuit of its daily food.
IDIOSYNCRASIES IN MIGRATION ROUTES
How migrating birds find their way
over the widespread regions lying be-
tween their winter and summer homes
has always been one of the tantalizing
353
THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE
THE CONNECTICUT WARMER CHOOSES A DIFFERENT ROUTE TO RETURN TO ITS WINTER
HOME THAN IT USED WHEN LEAVING IN SPRING (SEE PAGE 355)
problems of the migration student. A
favorite theory of the past, and one still
claiming many advocates, is that river
valleys and mountain chains form con-
venient highways along which the birds
travel in the spring, and which are easily
recognized on the return trip.
The incorrectness of this theory (at
least with reference to some species) is
proven by the migration routes of the
palm warblers. They winter in the Gulf
States from Louisiana eastward and
throughout the Greater Antilles to Porto
Rico. They nest in Canada from the
Mackenzie Valley to Newfoundland. To
carry out the above theory, the Louisiana
THE LONGEST SINGLE P%IGHT MADE BY ANY BIRD 2,500 MILES ACROSS THE OCEAN
FROM NOVA SCOTIA TO SOUTH AMERICA
This map shows the migration route of the golden plover, which uses a different course on
its return from its winter home (se§ page 355)
355
THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE
palm warblers should follow up the
broad, open highway of the Mississippi
River to its source and go thence to their
breeding grounds, while the warblers of
the Antilles should use the Alleghany
Mountains as a convenient guide.
As a matter of fact, as shown on the
map (page 352), the Louisiana birds nest
in Labrador, and those from the An-
tilles cut diagonally across the United
States to summer in central Canada.
The two routes cross each other in Geor-
gia at approximately right angles.
Another idiosyncrasy of bird migra-
tion is the adoption by the Connecticut
warbler of different routes for its south-
ward and northward journeys. All the
individuals of this species winter in
South America, and, as far as known, all
go and come by the same direct route
between Florida and South America,
across the West Indies ; but north of
Florida the spring and fall routes di-
verge. The spring route (page 353) leads
the birds up the Mississippi Valley to
their summer home in southern Canada;
but fall migration begins with a 1,000-
mile trip almost due east to New Eng-
land, whence the coast is followed
southwest to Florida.
The Connecticut warbler is considered
rare, but the multitudes that have struck
the Long Island light-houses during Oc-
tober storms show how closely the birds
follow the coast-line during fall migra-
tion.
The map represents the spring-migra-
tion route as far as at present known.
The fact that the route is practically
north and south through Ohio and then
turns abruptly west indicates a large and
as yet undiscovered breeding area in On-
tario north of lakes Huron and Superior.
Indeed, so little is known about the nest-
ing of the Connecticut warbler that the
eggs obtained by Mr. Seaton more than
25 years ago still remain unique.
Incidentally this route of the Connec-
ticut warbler is a conclusive argument
against the theory that migration routes
indicate the original pioneer path by
which the birds invaded the region of
their present summer homes.
THE LONGEST CONTINUOUS FLTGHT tN
THB> WORLD 2,500 MILES
Such elliptical migration routes as that
mentioned above are rare among land
birds, but are used and on a far larger
scale by many water birds, notable
among which is the golden plover. This
species nests along the Arctic coast of
North America, and as soon as the young
are old enough to care for themselves
fall migration is begun by a trip to the
Labrador coast, where the plover fat-
tens for several weeks on the abundant
native fruits. A short trip across the
Gulf of St. Law r rence brings it to Nova
Scotia, the starting point for its extra-
ordinary ocean flight, due south to the
coast of South America (page 354).
The golden plover takes a straight
course across the ocean, and, if the
weather is propitious, makes the whole
2,400 miles without pause or rest. But
if tempests arise, it may be blown out
of its course to the New England coast
and start anew on the advent of fair
weather ; or it may rest for a few days
at the Bermudas, one-third of the way
along its course, or at the nearest of the
Lesser Antilles, still 600 miles from the
mainland of South America. These,
however, are emergency stop-overs, to be
resorted to only in case of storms. Hav-
ing accomplished its ocean voyage, it
passes across eastern South America to
its winter home in Argentina.
After a six months' vacation here, the
plover finds its way back to the Arctic
by an entirely different route. It travels
across northwestern South America and
the Gulf of Mexico, reaching the United
States along the coasts of Louisiana and
Texas. Thence it moves slowly up the
Mississippi Valley and by early June is
again at the nesting site on the Arctic
coast. Its round trip has taken the form
of an enormous ellipse, with a minor
axis of 2,000 miles and a major axis
stretching 8,000 miles from Arctic Amer-
ica to Argentina.
OUR GREATEST TRAVELERS
HOW DID THK GOLDEN PLOVER COME To
USE SUCH A DIFFICULT ROUTE?
The evolution of the elliptical route of
the golden plover, wonderful though it
is in its present extended form, is easily
traced through its various stages. To-
ward the end of the glacial era, when
the ice hegan to recede, the peninsula of
Florida was submerged and a compara-
tively small area of land in the south-
eastern United States was free from ice.
Any golden plover that attempted to fol-
low up the retreating ice must have been
confined to an all-land route from Cen-
tral America through Mexico and Texas
to the western part of the Mississippi
Valley. As larger areas of the eastern
United States were uncovered and lie-
came available for bird habitation, ex-
tension of the route would be to the
northeast, until in time the whole of the
Mississippi Valley to the Great Lakes
could be occupied.
As the migration route lengthened and
powers of flight developed, there would
arise a tendency to straighten the line
and shorten it by cutting off some of the
great curve (No. I, page 357) through
Texas and Mexico. A short flight across
the western end of the Gulf of Mexico
was finally essayed (No. 2), and this
gradually lengthened and its points of
departure and arrival moved eastward
until eventually the roundabout curve
through Texas was discarded and the
flight was made directly from southern
Louisiana across the Gulf (No. 3).
As the great areas of Canada were
added to the birds' domain, other condi-
tions arose. Here appeared a vast new
stretch of coast and plain — the Labrador
peninsula — offering in the fall rich stores
of the most delectable berries and fruits:
but at migrating time, in the spring,
bound by frost and shrouded in fog.
Since Chinook winds made the climate
of the interior of the continent just east
of the Rocky Mountains especially favor-
able for spring migration, there arose
gradually a dividing of the spring and
fall routes, the fall route tending east-
ward (No. 4). while the spring route
remained unchanged. When the fall
route had worked eastward to the Gulf
of St. Lawrence (No. 5). a shortening
began to take out the great westward
curve of the New England coast. A
short ocean flight was attempted ( No.
6) ; and, when this proved successful, it
was exteffded until the present direct
route (Nq» 7) across the Atlantic was
obtained.
II0W DOES THE PLOVER FIND ITS WAV
EVERY SEASON TO THE LITTLE Ha-
waiian ISLANDS, 2,400 MILES
ACROSS THE OCEAN?
The above gives a probable and fairly
satisfactory explanation of the origin of
the present migration route of the golden
plover over the Atlantic Ocean. I hit this
is a very .simple problem compared with
that presented by the Pacific golden
plover. The Hawaiian Islands arc 111
the middle of the Pacific Ocean, distant
2,000 miles from California on the east,
2,400 miles from Alaska on the north,
and 3.700 miles from Japan to the west.
Golden plover in considerable numbers
fly each fall the 2,400 miles across an
islandless sea from Alaska to Hawaii,
spend the winter there, and fly back
again the next spring to nest in Alaska.
But how did they first find their way to
Hawaii . J
It is not to be supposed that am' birds
would deliberately strike out over un-
known s^a,s hunting f< >r a new winter
home. It is scarcely more probable that,
even if a large flock was caught in a
storm and carried far out of its course
to the Hawaiian shores, the birds would
change in a single season habits of count-
less generations and start at once a radi-
cally new migration route. It has already
been said that present migration routes
are evolutions — age-long modifications of
other routes. The problem, then, is to
find some migration route from which
the golden plover's present Hawaiian-
Alaskan route could have been easily
and naturally derived.
The bird breeds on the northern shores
of eastern Siberia, from the Liakof Is-
lands to Bering Strait, and on the Alaska
side of the strait south tn the northern
357
THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE
MAP SHOWING THE EVOLUTION OF THE PRESENT MIGRATION ROUTE OE THE GOLDEN
PLOVER (SEE PAGE 356)
base of the Alaska peninsula (page 359 ),
It winters on the mainland of southeast-
ern Asia, in the eastern half of Australia,
and throughout the islands of Oceanica.
from Formosa and the Eiu Kiu Islands
on the northwest to the Low Archipelago
in the southeast.
The breeding range has an east-and-
west extension of about 1,700 miles,
while the winter home extends nearly
half around the globe — TO.ooo miles —
from India to the Low Archipelago.
Undoubtedly the original migration route
was approximately north and south, be-
OUR GREATEST TRAVELERS
358
tween the nests in Siberia and the winter
resorts in southern Asia. In the course
of time the species spread eastward in
the winter to Australia, to the islands
along (he eastern coast of Asia, and
throughout Occanica, while at the same
time the breeding range was extended
eastward across Bering Strait to Alaska.
If all these extensions took place be-
fore (here was any cutting off of corners
in the migration route, then at this stage
of development the Alaska - breeding
birds were journeying over n,ooo miles
(page 359, No. i) to reach the Low
Archipelago, distant only a little more
than 5,000 miles in an air-line.
It is fair to suppose that early in
the course of the eastward extension
among the Pacific islands, the plover be-
gan to shorten the roundabout journey
by flights from the northern islands to
eastern Asia, and finally to Japan ( No.
2). The most northern island is Pal-
myra, and the flight from there west-
ward to the nearest of the Marshall
Islands is about 2,000 miles ; thence a
3,000-mile journey, with several possible
rests, brings the birds to Japan.
It is easily possible that birds accus-
tomed to this 5,000-mile flight might be
driven by storms a thousand miles out
of their course and discover Hawaii.
When from Hawaii they attempted to
reach Japan (No. 3) they would find a
chain of islands stretching for 1,700
miles in the desired direction, and the
final flight of 2,000 miles from the last
of these — the Midway Islands — to Japan
would be no longer than previous flights
to which the}' had become accustomed.
Having once learned the route from
the Midway Islands to Japan, it would
be natural that the place of alighting on
the Asiatic coast should be gradually
carried north and east until the direct
flight was made from the Midway Is-
lands to the Aleutians (No. 4). A natu-
ral and easy carrying of this line east-
ward would result in the present route
(No. 5) between Hawaii and Alaska.
NEIGH liORS AND STRANGERS
Both the American and Pacific golden
plovers nest in Alaska near Bering Strait,
the former on the north and the latter
on the south side of the strait. The
American bird reached there by a west-
ward extension from Canada, and the
Pacific by an eastward extension from
Siberia. ; The birds themselves are so
nearly alike that only an expert can dis-
tinguish them ; and, notwithstanding they
are such near neighbors during the sum-
mer — scarcely a hundred miles apart —
the beginning of migration makes them
utter strangers ; for those north of the
strait travel 3,000 miles east and then
6,000 miles south to Argentina, while the
others make a 3,000-mile flight directly
south to .their winter home in Hawaii.
Tine world's most extraordinary
TRAVELER
The shore-birds, such as the golden
plover, present the longest migration
routes among land-feeding birds ; but
even their surprising records are sur-
passed by some of the birds which glean
their living from the waters. The world's
migration champion is the Arctic tern
(page 360). It deserves its title of Arc-
tic, for it nests as far north as land has
been discovered; that is, as far north
as the bird can find anything stable on
which to construct its nest.
Indeed, so Arctic are the conditions
under which it breeds that the first nest
found by man in this region, only 7^
degrees from the pole, contained a downy
chick surrounded by a wall of newly
fallen snow that had been scooped out
of the nest by the parent.
When the young are full grown the
entire family leaves the Arctics, and sev-
eral months later they are found skirting
the edge of the Antarctic continent.
What their track is over that 11,000
miles of intervening space no one knows.
A few scattered individuals have been
noted along the United States coast south
to Long Island, but the great flocks of
thousands and thousands of these terns
which alternate from one pole to the
'other have never been met by any trained
ornithologist competent to learn their
preferred path and their time schedule.
The Arctic terns arrive in the far north
about June 15 and leave about August
359
THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC" MAGAZINE
MAT TO EXPLAIN HOW THE GOLDEN PLOVER IS ABLE TO NAVIGATE To THE HAWAIIAN
ISLANDS IN THE MID-PACIFIC (SEE PAGES 356 AND 358)
The longest ocean trip without any possibility of resting is shown in this map. This is
the same distance as traversed by the Atlantic plover, but the latter can get to land when in
trouble. The dotted lines along the Arctic coast show the breeding range of the bird.
25, thus staying- 14 weeks at the nesting
site. They probably spend a few weeks
longer in the winter than in the sum-
mer home ; and, if so, this leaves them
scarcely 20 weeks for the round trip of
22,000 miles. Not less than 150 miles in
a straight line must be their daily task,
and this is undoubtedly multiplied sev-
eral times by their zigzag twistings and
turnings in pursuit of food.
The Arctic terns have more hours of
daylight and sunlight than any other ani-
mals on the globe. At their most north-
ern nesting site, the midnight sun has
already appeared before their arrival,
and it never sets during their entire stay
at the breeding grounds. During two
months of their sojourn in the Antarctic
they do not see a sunset, and fur the
rest of the time the sun dips only a little
MAP SHOWING SUMMER AND WINTER HOMES OF THE BIRD THAT HATES DARKNESS
The summer home of the Arctic tern is along the Arctic coast of North America; its
winter home within the Antarctic Circle, 11,000 miles away. During eight months of the year
the bird lives where the sun does not go below the horizon. The track of the tern in its
round journey of 22,000 miles is unknown (see page 359}.
361
THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE
way below the horizon and broad day-
light continues all night. The birds
therefore have 24 hours of daylight for
at least eight months in the year, and
during the other four months have con-
siderably more daylight than darkness.
THE MOVEMENTS OE THE ROBIN
The number of miles traveled per day
by a migrating bird varies greatly in dif-
ferent parts of the migration journey.
These variations are intimately con-
nected with corresponding variations in
the speed of the northward march of
spring, and are based primarily on two
facts : First, that the interior of a conti-
nent warms up faster than the coasts ;
second, that spring is hastened in western
North America by the Japan current,
while it is as decidedly retarded in the
east by the polar current.
The results of these two causes are
strikingly shown in the migration of the
robin (page 362). This bird differs from
most others in that throughout its entire
course northward it adopts spring's time-
table for its own.
The robin's average temperature of
migration is 35° E. ; that is, it puts in
an appearance soon after the snow be-
gins to melt and streams to open, but
before vegetation has made any start.
These conditions occur in the central
Mississippi Valley about the middle of
February, and it is the first of March
before spring and the robins cross north-
ern Missouri and arrive together in.
.southern Iowa. Thence a whole month
is consumed by the birds in their slow
progress — 13 miles a day — to central
Minnesota. There their pace quickens,
to keep up with the northward rush of
spring, and another 10 days at doubled
speed brings them to southern Canada.
Here they must make an important
choice. To the north and northeast lies
a land that awakens slowly from its win-
ter's sleep, and where the sun must wage
a protracted contest against the cold of
the ice - masses in Lake Superior and
Hudson Bay. To the northwest stretches
a less forbidding region, already quick-
ening under the influence of the Chinook
winds.
THE EASTERN" ROBINS MOVE SEOWEY, THE
PACIFIC MUCH FASTER
Most of the robins from Missouri that
pass through western Minnesota elect to
turn to the northwest, and now they
must not only keep pace with the rapidly
advancing season, but must do so while
traveling on a long-drawn-out diagonal.
Their daily average rises to 50 miles —
four times that in southern Iowa — and
later, when for the birds bound for west-
tern Alaska the course becomes nearly
due west, the rate increases to 70 miles
a day — more than six times the speed
with which the journey began.
The migration map of the robins shows
that these Alaska-breeding birds are the
only ones that develop high speed. The
robins bound for Newfoundland move
leisurely along the Atlantic coast at the
proverbially slow rate of the oncoming
of spring in New England, and, scarcely
exceeding 17 miles a day, they finally
arrive at their destination May 6, when
their Alaska-bound relatives are already
1,200 miles farther north.
One of the most interesting things in-
dicated on the map is the migration route
of the robins who nest in southern Al-
berta. They arrive too early to have
come from the south or the southeast ;
hence they must have come from the
southwest, though this has necessitated
their crossing the main range of the
Rockies while the mountains were still
in the grasp of winter. Robins remain
all winter" on the Pacific coast, north to
southwestern British Columbia, which
has about the same winter temperature
as St. Louis, 700 miles southward. Hence
the wintering robins of British Columbia
are already far north at the advent of
spring and. do not need any hurried mi-
gration to =reach Alberta on time. As a
fact, they average only 8 miles a day, the
slowest rate for the species.
It may be fairly asked, How do we
know that the Alaska robins have come
all this long distance from the central
Mississippi Valley, instead of the far
shorter distance from British Columbia?
It happens that the robins of the two
sides of the continent are slightl)' differ-
OUR GREATEST TRAVELERS
o a o
•yol
THE ROBIN MOVES MUCH QUICKER ON THE PACIFIC THAN ON THE ATLANTIC
| The dotted lines connect the places at which the robins arrive simultaneously. The heavy
solid line marks the division between the eastern and the western forms. The heavy dotted
line represents the migration route of the Alaska breeding birds (sec page 361).
363
THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE
THE SCARLET TANAGER
An example of a migration route much more contracted than either the breeding or winter
range (see page 364)
ent in color and in pattern of coloration.
Birds of the western style are not known
north of southwestern Saskatchewan,
central British Columbia, and southeast-
ern Alaska, while the whole country to
the northward is occupied by birds that
evidently have come from the southeast.
The heavy, solid line on the map shows
the approximate meeting-ground of the
two forms.
Most migrants except the robins,
ducks, and geese wait in their warm
winter quarters until springtime is far
advanced, and then, traveling swiftly,
occupy only a few days in their vernal
migration. The black-poll warbler is one
of the best examples,
THE WARBLERS AND CLIFF SWALLOWS
While the Alaska-breeding robins start
off in February, and spend nearly 90
days in going from central Missouri to
western Alaska, the black-poll warbler
remains in his tropical home during Feb-
ruary and March, and is not seen in
southern Florida until about April 20.
OUR GREATEST TRAVELERS
364
By the first of May he arrives in central
Missouri, which the robins left 60 days
earlier, and yet he reaches northwestern
Alaska only 10 days later than the robins.
The latters' 90-day schedule has been
shortened by the warbler to 30 days.
The black-poll warbler furnishes a
striking example of speed acceleration
during the latter part of migration. As
indicated on the map of his migration
route (page 348), between April 20 and
April 30 he goes from central Missouri
to central Iowa, a distance of 300 miles,
or an average of 30 miles a day. The
next 10 days the rate rises to 100 miles
a day, while during the last few days of
migration a velocity of 300 miles a day
is attained.
In contrast, notice the dates, distances,
and speeds indicated for the cliff swal-
low on its migration-route map ( page
349 ) . The swallow must strike out for
the north very early, since by March 10
it is already 2,500 miles from the winter
home, and yet is averaging only 25 miles
a day for the next 20 days, while it is
rounding the western end of the Gulf of
Mexico. It more than doubles this rate
while passing up the Mississippi and
Ohio rivers. The crossing of the Alle-
ghany Mountains comes next, and there
are only 200 miles of progress to show
for the 10 days of migration. By this
time spring has really come east of the
Alleghanies, and the swallow travels 60
miles a day to its summer home in Nova
Scotia.
It is to be noted that the swallow, like
the robin and the black-poll warbler,
works up to high rates of speed when
it is traveling on a diagonal, and that
except during the 10 days spent in cross-
ing the mountains, each 10 days' travel
covers approximately five degrees of lati-
tude.
SOME NARROW MIGRATION ROUTES
The accompanying illustration of the
range of the scarlet tanager (page 363)
is given to show the narrowness of the
migration route as compared with the
width of the summer and winter homes.
This tanager nests from New Brunswick
to Saskatchewan, a region extending over
1,900 miles of longitude. The Missis-
sippi Valley birds go south and the New
England birds southeast, until they all
leave the United States along 800 miles
of (Gulf coast from Texas to Florida.
The migration lines continue to converge
until in southern Central America they
are not more than a hundred miles apart.
Arrived in South America for the win-
ter, the birds scatter over a district about
one-hahf the area of the summer home,
with ail extreme east-and-west range of
about 700 miles.
TH^ BOBOLINKS ARE SEEKING NEW
ROUTES
The migration route of the bobolink
(page 365) shows a similar though not
so decided a contraction at its narrowest
part. The summer home extends from
Cape Breton Island to Saskatchewan,
2,300 miles, and the migration lines con-
verge toward the rice fields of the South,
the objective point of all bobolinks, no
matter "where they nest.
Having gorged themselves to repletion,
they press on toward their Brazilian win-
ter abode ; but the South Carolina and
Georgia birds take a course almost at
right angles to that chosen by the scarlet
tanagers from those States, and strike
out directlv across the West Indies for
South America. In this part of their
journey their migration path contracts to
an east-and-west breadth of about 800
miles, while a very large proportion of
the birds restrict themselves to the east-
ern 400 miles of this route. In South
America, the region occupied during the
winter .has about one-fifth the breadth
and one-third the area of the breeding
range.
The, bobolinks of New England have
witnessed great numerical changes, or
evolutions. When the white man arrived
on the scene, nearly all of New England
was coyered by primeval forest and bob-
olink meadows were scarce. As the for-
est gave place to hay-fields, the bobolinks
promptly took advantage of their chance
and their numbers increased steadily until
the maximum was reached some 40 years
565
THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE
THE MIGRATION ROUTE OF THE BOBOLINK IS CHANGING (SEE PAGE 364)
ago. Then the newly invented mowing
machine and the horsepower hay-rake
began to destroy thousands of nests and
caused a marked diminution in the bobo-
link census.
The case of the bobolink is a fitting
close to this article, because it is reveal-
ing to US at the present time the manner
of evolution of a new migration route.
By nature a lover of damp meadows, it
was formerly cut off from the western
United States by the intervening arid
region. But with the advent of irriga-
tion and the bringing of large areas
under cultivation, little colonies of nest-
ing bobolinks are beginning to appear
here and there almost to the Pacific.
Some of them are shown by dots on the
accompanying map, and the probability
is that the not distant future will see
a large increase in these trans-Rocky
Mountain bobolinks.